After an unexpected cameo ride in Tuesday’s jockeys’ series, notching a winner on that night, beating right on the line none other than Joao Moreira, Alysha Collett will cap the dream week with a Group 1 ride in Sydney on Saturday.
The New Zealand jockey rides Just Shine in the Group 1 The Metropolitan (2400m), one of the most coveted handicap races in Australia.
Collett flies out after this Friday’s standalone night meeting where she has five rides, the last being Alamosa Express in the last race at 10.20pm.
Sydney is not unfamiliar territory for Collett as she briefly rode there for premier trainer Chris Waller in 2012, doing very well with a haul of 15 wins, and her elder brother Jason is one of the leading jockeys there.
There is actually a family connection behind the booking on Just Shine. The five-time winner by Mastercraftsman actually won his first race for Collett’s father Richard in New Zealand before crossing the Tasman Sea to Clare Cunningham, a young Warwick Farm trainer, who also happens to be Jason’s girlfriend.
“Dad actually used to train the horse for Hong Kong owners. He won one race at his last start for Dad before he went to Australia to join Clare,” said Collett.
“At his last start, he ran well in the Newcastle Cup (September 14). He ran third and the horse who ran second (Auvray) will run in the Metrop as well.
“Clare is my brother’s partner and is always looking for a lightweight rider. With the horse on 50kgs, Jason can’t ride him, so she gave me the ride.
“It’s pretty exciting to be back in Sydney as I haven’t ridden there since I left in 2012, more so when it’s a Group 1 race.”
At her seventh year of riding, Collett does have one Group winner on her resume, Consensus in the Zabeel Classic back in New Zealand in 2016. Just Shine is a 33-1 chance on the betting market to The Metropolitan, but Collett has not ruled out his chances.
“He’s got no weight on his back and ran well in the Newcastle Cup, but he is also drawn wide (13). He needs a bit of rain as well,” she said.
Collett, who only flies back to Singapore on Tuesday to spend more time in Sydney given there is no Sunday meeting this week, would certainly not mind the perfect send-off for the Sydney mission, even if she has already been riding high this week.
“For a second, I thought I had a chance in the jockeys’ series race!” said Collett, who took the non-championship ride on $181 shot Destiny Knight in the first Leg given Vlad Duric (who was aboard the scratched Mr Hopkins) could not make the 52kgs.
“In the end, he couldn’t quite quicken (fifth), but it was nice to get a chance to ride against these world-class jockeys.
“Revolution won in a pretty exciting finish later. I thought he was okay when I first got on, but he has really improved into a pretty good horse.”
After firing blanks in the Premier Gateway International Jockeys Challenge in four rides, Moreira looked on his way to finally getting on the board in a non-PGI race, to at least give his legion of fans a consolation prize when he drove Iffragal to the front in the Phumelela Gaming & Leisure Ltd Trophy Class 5 Non Premier race over 1200m, but Collett rode like she had not been told who was aboard.
Riding the Alwin Tan-trained Unencumbered three-year-old colt the same way she did three runs back, the Kiwi lass delivered a well-timed run to beat Moreira and Iffragal by a shorthead right at the last hop.
