Tasmanian apprentices Radley and Johnstone celebrate multiple wins at Flemington
Apprentice jockey Jackson Radley marked a significant day at Flemington on Saturday, contributing to a dominant performance by young riders, particularly those from Tasmania.
Radley continued his successful partnership with the mare Seafall, trained by the Hayes brothers (Ben, Will, and JD), guiding her to victory in the $150,000 The David Bourke race over 1620 metres. This win qualifies her for the upcoming $200,000 Listed Winter Championship Final in a fortnight.
The mare's triumph came two races after Radley had already saluted the judge in the $150,000 Bruce Gadsden Handicap (1420m) aboard Stylish, another horse from the Lindsay Park stable.
These victories for Radley were mirrored by fellow Tasmanian apprentice Jabez Johnstone, who rode favourites Decalogue and Ten Commandments, both trained by Ciaron Maher, to win.
"It definitely keeps us competitive, that's for sure," Radley remarked about the presence of Tasmanian talent racing on the mainland, where he has been based since last year.
"It's good to do this, especially for the Lindsay Park team.
"It's already been talked about, them leaving me on a couple of their horses in the Finals Series races and I haven't had a good day at Flemington before, so I'm glad to get a couple of winners on the board."
Radley was pleased with Seafall's performance on the long Flemington straight, which allowed the mare to snatch a win in the final strides against Al Duca and Highlights, extending her impressive record to four wins from her last five starts.
"I always thought I was going to reel them in, but any other track than today I probably wouldn't have got there," he confessed.
While Radley's winners were not outsiders – Seafall started at $5.50 and Stylish at $7 – they were less fancied than Johnstone's mounts.
After guiding the $3.40 favourite Decalogue to victory in the second race, Johnstone then piloted the day's shortest-priced elect, Ten Commandments ($2.10), to win the fifth race.
"Obviously none of this would have been possible without the support I'm getting and Ciaron Maher and his team and I can't thank them enough," Johnstone stated.
"He's given me really good support and put a lot of trust in me."
Apprentices collectively secured victories in more than half of the races at Flemington. The day commenced with Ryan Houston winning on Fontein Jewel for trainer Ben Brisbourne and concluded with Luke Cartwright guiding Obvious to a win for Greg Eurell.
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