Zac Lloyd wins Bart Cummings Medal
Zac Lloyd’s ascension towards Sydney racing’s elite took another giant step on Thursday night when the star apprentice ended a decade of Chris Waller domination in the Bart Cummings Medal.
Lloyd finished the season with a flourish to finish on 81 points, 17 clear of Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott with Waller, a 12-time winner of the award, in third on 62 points.
The Bart Cummings Medal is New South Wales racing’s premier individual award with votes awarded by seven leading Sydney racing journalists.
It was yet another accolade for Lloyd, who rode 76 metropolitan winners for the season – the most by an apprentice in Sydney since the 1980/81 season – to be crowned Sydney’s leading apprentice and the winner of the Theo Green Award.
“Zac has enjoyed a highly successful season where he also won the Sydney apprentices’ premiership but to beat the 12-time Bart Cummings Medal winner Chris Waller highlights the enormous magnitude of the win,” Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’Landys said.
Rounding out the top five in the Bart Cummings Medal were champion jockey James Mcdonald, who finished one vote behind Waller, while Dylan Gibbons, who was runner-up Lloyd in the apprentice jockeys’ premiership, finished on 48.
The other major jockeys’ award presented at the function at Royal Randwick was the George Moore Award for Sydney’s leading jockey, which went to James McDonald for the seventh time.
While Waller had his Bart Cummings Medal streak broken, he collected the T J Smith Award for the 13th consecutive year after preparing 139 city winners for the season.
A swag of NSW Racehorse Owners awards were also presented, including the NSW Champion Horse of the Year, which was awarded to James Cummings-trained star Anamoe, who also won the champion miler and champion middle-distance awards.
More Racing News
Gold Coast trial to sharpen Magic Time for the Kingsford Smith Cup
Michael Dee is heading to the Gold Coast to trial multiple Group 1 winning mare Magic Time ahead of her first run in Brisbane. The Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup (1300m) at Eagle Farm on June 1 is the race trainer Grahame Begg has picked out to run Magic Time in first-up in Brisbane,...
Kovalica to relish G1 Doomben Cup trip
The anniversary of Kovalica’s biggest success comes up in the next week and Chris Waller is hoping to celebrate the milestone with another Brisbane Group 1 win. The four-year-old son of Ocean Park will chase his first win since last year’s Queensland Derby when he steps out in this Saturday’s $1 million...
Shinn to make Sydney trip for Think About It trial
Blake Shinn will make the trip to Sydney to partner Think About It in a barrier trial as he prepares for his first race ride on the Everest winner. Sam Clipperton has been the gelding’s regular jockey over the past 15 months, but connections decided to make a change following a disappointing Sydney autumn...
Draw favours Who Dares in The Straight Six
Who Dares has finally lived up to the lofty expectations placed on him winning a Stakes race at Flemington. The Listed Straight Six (1200m) on Saturday fell the way of the heavily supported gelding, prepared at Mornington by Pat Carey and Harris Walker. Sent out the $3.30 favourite under Patrick Moloney, Who Dares scored...
Lloyd keeps his cool as Cindy collects Dark Jewel Classic
A composed ride from Zac Lloyd has helped Fall For Cindy post an invaluable Group Three win, the star apprentice keeping his cool despite having to throw the script out the window shortly after the start. Lloyd had hoped to settle the John O’Shea-trained mare in the first half of the field and...
The Map lands a Melbourne Cup berth
Six months of planning has paid off with The Map earning a ‘Golden Ticket’ into the Melbourne Cup. The Listed Andrew Ramsden Stakes (2800m) at Flemington on Saturday grants the winner a ballot exemption into the Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) in November. Trainers Dan Clarken and Oopy Macgillivray planned their assault on Saturday’s...
Opal Ridge signals Queensland carnival intentions in Ortensia Stakes
A relieved Luke Pepper will press on to the Queensland winter carnival with renewed confidence after an underdone Opal Ridge maintained her perfect home track record with a classy victory in the Ortensia Stakes at Scone. Pepper admitted to some pre-race anxiety given Opal Ridge hadn’t raced since November, but he banked on...
Bella Nipotina beats I Wish I Win in the Doomben 10,000
Ciaron Maher has been left to marvel at the tenacity of bonny mare Bella Nipotina, who has overcome a busy travel schedule to upset I Wish I Win in the $1.5 million Doomben 10,000. Kicking off her preparation in Melbourne, Bella Nipotina was narrowly edged out by Chain Of Lightning in the T J...
Bool battler chasing a Melbourne Cup dream
The self-proclaimed little bogan from the Bool with the bargain battler $5000 horse is chasing the dream of a Melbourne Cup start at Flemington. Patrick Ryan Jnr and his stayer Ferago head to the Listed Andrew Ramsden (2800m) in search of a ballot exemption into the Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington...
Shall Samuel and Twain meet in the Melbourne Cup?
To breed one Melbourne Cup runner is an achievement, but to have two in the same race from the one family is something not many can boast. But that’s the dream Gail Temperton and Stan Alexander are hoping to realise this year and Samuel Langhorne can take a giant step towards making...