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SOUTH African-born, England-based apprentice jockey Daniel Muscutt wasted no time in booting home his first Australian winner on Saturday after arriving in the country a week earlier.
The 19-year-old Muscutt, who has ridden more than 50 winners in England and Dubai, is on loan to Sydney’s premier trainer, Chris Waller, and the Broadmeadow race meeting on Saturday was his first day of riding in this country.
The teenager had three rides for Waller and one for former South African trainer David Payne on Saturday.
After piloting the Payne two-year-old Lady Fleetfoot into second place in the opening event, Muscutt finished out of the placings on the Waller pair Diretto and the unlucky Hoywedge.
The apprentice’s last ride for the day was aboard the Waller-trained Sadhika in a 1400-metre maiden.
Waller had two runners in the race and the betting suggested his other starter, Sashay, a former Kiwi mare starting in this country for the first time, was the stable elect.
Sashay, part-owned by Australian cricket captain Steve Smith and NSW all-rounder Moises Henriques, was backed in from $4 to $3 with on-course bookmakers.
Sadhika, a luckless second at Broadmeadow last start, was an easing $5 chance.
The Waller pair settled at the tail of the field until the home turn and made their runs together in the home straight. Sadhika was far superior and won convincingly, with Sashay second.
Muscutt could not believe his good fortune.
“I am over the moon. I only flew in a week ago after a stint in Dubai, and to ride a winner on my first day at the races here is a big thrill,” he said.
“I am grateful to Mr Waller and Mr Payne for the opportunities today.
“This isn’t the first time I have been to Australia riding trackwork for Mr Waller.
“My father, Peter, has been a foreman with Mr Waller for four years, and before I was apprenticed in England I made trips here to see dad and ride work.
“Mum lives in England and I have been based at Newmarket for more than two seasons.
“I jumped at the opportunity to join Mr Waller’s stable for the next three months.
“I am very impressed with Broadmeadow, a big, roomy track, as I am used to the spacious tracks in England.
“I am riding at Nowra on Tuesday. Don’t know where Nowra is or anything about the track, but I will soon find out.”
Sadhika completed a winning double at Broadmeadow for Waller, after his mare Riva Romantica won a 1600m maiden earlier in the day.
Muscutt was not the only foreign-born apprentice to win at Broadmeadow.
Turkish-born Erhan Kacmaz gave a polished display on Warwick Farm filly Unsinkable, an all-the-way winner of the two-year-old event.
Kacmaz is apprenticed to Gary Nickson, who trains Unsinkable, a $10,000 buy.
Kacmaz was apprenticed to leading Victorian trainer Robert Smerdon, where he rode his first winner.
The apprentice had been in Sydney for three months and had only one ride at Broadmeadow on Saturday.
“I have ridden 50 winners, but that was my first at Broadmeadow,” he said.
The best effort of the day came from French mare You Are Golden in the final event, a benchmark 65 over 1400m.
Trained by Scone horseman Greg Bennett, You Are Golden bolted in at her first start in this country at Scone two weeks earlier. The mare, up sharply in class on Saturday, again cruised home for birthday boy Blake Spriggs.
Source: theherald.com.au