George Moore (119), Roy Higgins (108), Jim Cassidy (102) and Damien Oliver (101) are the four great jockeys to reach the 100 Group 1 milestone.
Following them are Darren Beadman (94), Shane Dye (93) and Mick Dittman (88). Next on the list is Glen Boss, with 86 Group 1 wins.
The accolades which have gone to ‘Pumper’ Cassidy and ‘Ollie’ Oliver for the great milestones they have achieved got me thinking how many more Group 1 wins are there for Glen Boss. I suspect he won’t reach 100 but he may equal or even pass Darren Beadman.
Glen is now 44-years-old and, with the exception of the freakish Jim Cassidy still riding and riding Group 1 winners at the age of 50, all the others on this list rode their last race at either of 46 and 47 years of age. Bossy has experienced the worst of racing injuries, so riding until 50 may not be possible.
Darren Beadman came so close, but three years away from racing, moving to Hong Kong and serious injuries stopped him reaching the 100.
Shane Dye, having 90 Group 1 wins by the age of 33, could have been top of the list but once again moving to Hong Kong and serious injuries deprived him of the milestone.
I’m sure the reason Mick Dittman didn’t make the ton is that he was Queensland-based for the first half of his career, making his efforts once he went to Sydney all the more incredible.
This group of jockeys were the best, so they rode for the best stables, such as Tommy Smith, Bart Cummings, Lee Freedman, John Hawkes and Gai Waterhouse. Glen has a plus in this area by riding for the Darren Weir stable.
You also need to be riding the best horses and Glen has been unlucky in the past 12 months, with forced retirement of Cox Plate winner Ocean Park and Puissance De Lune not performing at Group 1 level last Spring.
Boss recently missed a Group 1 meeting through suspension and the best jockeys seemingly get suspended quite often, so more suspensions are an issue.
He also needs to be contesting in the Group 1 carnivals and I’ve noticed he is often riding in Melbourne when big meetings are on elsewhere, but that’s the price he pays for being attached to a strong stable.
On the negative side the recent riding by Hugh Bowman, Nash Rawiller, Kerryn McEvoy, Tommy Berry, James McDonald Chad Schofield shows that these guys are hungry for the big prizes, and Michael Rodd, Luke Nolan and Blake Shinn are still great hoops riding for great trainers.
I want to see Glen Boss get as many more under his belt as possible – maybe because I back him in every Group 1 race he contests.
He’s a great racing personality and a great jockey and like all champions he’s capable of anything.
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