Lee Tiley will take her first ride in more than nine years when she teams up with Spoke To Carlo in Saturday's Listed Westbury Stud Karaka Classic at Avondale.
The 42-year-old former champion apprentice answered the call from her trainer husband Nigel to partner the former Hong Kong galloper, who opened as a $2.60 favourite on the TAB's fixed-odds market for the 1400m feature.
"Lee wanted to get her licence back to ride at the trials but then after Spoke To Carlo raced at Taranaki, I had a discussion with [racing manager] Danny Rolston about setting him for this race," Nigel Tiley said.
"He said then all the top jockeys would be at Hastings and I jokingly suggested Lee. Danny said 'could we get her?' He was all for it and Lee said 'why not?' She's very much looking forward to it now."Rolston manages Spoke To Carlo on behalf of Hong Kong owners Siu Cheong Chu and Kwe Sun Yih.
Lee Tiley, who competed in a legends jockey series at Te Rapa last year, has ridden 578 winners in New Zealand, 37 at stakes level, her best win coming in the 1997 Thorndon Mile on Winning Wave.There will be no fitness concerns as she rides trackwork daily and spends the rest of her day working as a personal trainer.
"She's as fit as anyone you'd know. She rides at the jumpouts and rides up to 10 horses a morning in trackwork," said Nigel Tiley, adding that while Saturday shouldn't be regarded as a comeback, it probably won't be a one-off either as she could fill a void for the stable on other occasions as well.
A winner of four of his 18 starts, seven-year-old Spoke To Carlo has raced six times in New Zealand, winning three and placing in the other three, including a third placing in last Saturday's Gr.3 Merial Metric Mile at Awapuni, his first start in stakes company."He's come through last week enormous. Unfortunately 1400m is not his go and I'm as annoyed about them cutting the distance from 1600m as anyone. That means if we don't get rain, he probably won't start," Tiley said in reference to the Avondale Jockey Club's late decision to run its carded 1600m over 1400m after issues with the 1600m starting chute.
Lee Tiley will also ride Sono Veloce for the stable in the Sistema 1200 on the undercard.
