TAKE a female Pommy jockey that hadn’t ridden an outright thoroughbred winner despite 16 years of trying.
Add to the mix a trainer that was just a couple of months ago entrusted with a big team of horses and who was also finding that breakthrough winner elusive.
Throw in a rising six-year-old gelding bought by its new owner for just $600 so the aforementioned Pommy rider could kick-start her picnics’ career, and then team them up at a rustic bush track that only sees a mob of horses once every 12 months.
It’s a story that would have had Banjo Paterson reaching for his quill and inkpot had he still been around.
The latest chapter of bush racing was wrapped up at historic Talmoi when 38-year-old English rider Katie Spalding – who honed her craft at leading stables in England and Dubai – rode the race of her life to win the 1000m maiden plate on Kentuckian for Tamworth trainer Melissa Dennett.
For the full story, click here.