KWT IS ON THE MOVE AGAIN!

By Graham Potter | Thursday, April 18, 2024

KWT is on the move again.

A little over a month ago, Brisbane based Kyle Wilson-Taylor made a phone call to trainer Andrew Scott in New Zealand hoping to advance his relationship with the Andrew Scott and Lance O’Sullivan stable while also searching for an opportunity to enhance his profile by obtaining rides in New Zealand for the first time.

The young rider’s initiative paid off big time.

He was successful on both fronts and then took those options to a new level when he piloted the Scott / O’Sullivan trained Grail Seeker to victory in the Group 2 Wellington Guineas when in action for the first time in New Zealand.

As if to cement the view that nothing builds momentum like confidence, Wilson-Taylor rode a treble at Eagle Farm in his second meeting after returning to Queensland.

Now Wilson-Taylor has got the Scott / O’Sullivan call-up once again ... not for a ride in New Zealand this time, but for a ride in a destination which has an even longer flying time to reach from Brisbane ... that destination being Perth where Ascot will host the second running of the $5 million The Quokka on Saturday in which Wilson-Taylor will ride the four-year-old gelding Waitak.

Waitak, who has won two out of his last three starts ... which included a Group 1 success in the Railway at Pukekohe ... is pretty much friendless in the betting at $34, but it is worth bearing in mind that Grail Seeker was also double figure odds when he and Wilson-Taylor saluted in the Wellington Guineas.

Yes, there is the likes of Amelia’s Jewel and Overpass, amongst others, to beat, but the Waitak team have a ticket and therefore they have a chance which could prove to be worth its weight in gold when the full field of fourteen runners chase the $2 million first prize carrot on offer on Saturday ... ... afterall, they haven’t travelled the 5400km from Matamata for the scenery.

Unlike that day at Trentham where he had a number of rides, Waitak is Wilson-Taylor’s only ride at Ascot ... a track where he will be riding for the first time ...but it will still play its part in furthering Wilson-Taylor’s experience, both in terms of riding at a new venue and in terms of what he can learn when going up against some of the best, including the likes of Damian Lane, Willie Pike, Craig Williams, Blake Shinn and Josh Parr.

For a rider so keen to improve, these opportunities are invaluable

Whatever the result of The Quokka, chances are it will be a memorable day out for Wilson-Taylor who, let’s not forget, is already a Group 1 winning rider.

*A week later Wilson-Taylor will be in Rockhampton on April 28, having been confirmed on Thursday afternoon as the rider of Eaglemont in the $775 000 The Archer.

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