Luke Campbell finding his way in Melbourne
First there was a Flemington winner and then came his maiden winner at Caulfield, all of which has helped Perth apprentice Luke Campbell get over his home sickness.
Campbell is on a three-month loan to Ciaron Maher and David Eustace and wants to see how the next couple of months play out before making his next move.
The apprentice will need to weigh up whether he returns home and prepare for the Perth Summer Carnival later in the year or remain in Melbourne and follow a path that led Damien Oliver to leave West Australia and become one of Australia’s greatest ever jockeys.
Campbell said it was a great thrill to land his first winner at Flemington last week and as equally big a thrill to ride his first winner at Caulfield in his first ride at the track.
“I will see how I go over the next few months,” Campbell said after riding Flying On A Limb to victory in the Take It To The Neds Level Handicap (1000m) on Saturday.
“I was getting good support back home and I want to make sure if I go home to Perth that I would continue to get that support and get some nice rides back home over our summer carnival.
“Everyone back home is following how I am going. My girlfriend is over at the moment and I’m in contact with my family all the time.
“It’s natural to miss them, it’s human nature but you have to persist a bit, be resilient as it’s a good learning curve in the end.”
Campbell said he was riding with more confidence which coupled with support from owners and trainers was leading to more opportunities.
That confidence allowed the apprentice to take a narrow gap on Flying On A Limb which earned him a rebuke from Racing Victoria Stewards who told the rider to take greater care when taking a run where there was doubtful room.
“I knew I had a lot of horse underneath me coming to the corner and I just wanted to make sure I gave her a lot of flow into the race,” Campbell said.
“I knew it was going to be tight, but Katsu wanted to roll out a little on the corner. That opened the door for me a fraction and I put myself in there.
“I gave a call to Blake (Shinn on Katsu) to let him know I was there, and she did the job for me.”
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