Lack of foreign jockeys due to low quality racing?

If Australian racing wants to challenge other nations as the best jurisdiction on the planet, we need to look beyond international horses and bring international jockeys.

Jockeys from all over the world should be vying for the opportunity to ride in Australia on a permanent basis!

Over the past couple of year’s our racing administrators have projected the belief that if we can get the best international horses to Australia, it demonstrates how high the quality of our racing is.

Yet guys like Kieran Fallon, Ryan Moore and Gerald Mosse only fly in for one ride before heading straight back home. Surely we should be targeting them to stay for an entire spring or autumn carnival. It should be an easy decision considering the wealth of prize money on offer.

Racing Victoria’s international Recruitment Officer Leigh Jordon has had had excellent success over the past three years with raiders headlining our past three Melbourne Cups.

We’ve had horses from England, Ireland, France, Italy, Germany, the United States, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore all land on our shores over the past couple of years.

But one of the best things about sport is the personalities behind it and unfortunately, we don’t get a lot of that from the horses.

Amongst the current Australian riding ranks, there is only one foreign national who hails from somewhere other than Australia or New Zealand. That man is South African Glyn Schofield.

If we widen our scope beyond metropolitan racing, Thomas Huet (France) and Yusuke Ichikawa (Japan) are regulars on the New South Wales provincial scene. In country Victoria, Ibrahim Gundogdu (Turkey) also gets plenty of rides.

Overall though, Australia is greatly lacking international talent among the riding ranks when we compare to Singapore, Hong Kong, England, Ireland and France.

Speculation has been rife over the past week around a permanent move for Joao “The Magic Man” Moreira to join to Hong Kong Jockey Club having dominated Singapore racing for the past few seasons. It would be a big jump in exposure for the Brazilian who is one of few to legitimately be an international jockey.

Last week, Moreira was flown to Australia for the two-day Newcastle Cup carnival riding predominantly for trainer Kris Lees. Admittedly given a weak book of rides from Lees, the 28 year old was still one of the best jockeys over the carnival.

He gave his mounts every chance and several of his longshots got into the placings.

From his 13 rides over the two days, he produced one winner, four seconds, two thirds and three fourths. Of those 13 rides only five of his horses started shorter than double figures.

Immediately after the Newcastle Carnival, Moreira jetted off to China where he won the inaugural National Breeders Cup. In August, he was a member of the the Rest Of World team for the Shergar Cup Carnival in England which highlights how high demand for the Brazilian is.

With Moreira open to departing Singapore, everything should have been done to get a jockey of his calibre to relocate to Australia. Having been a regular rider for Patinack Farm in the past, Moreira is familiar with Australian racing already.

Australian hoops have a great record of success overseas. Amongst the current bunch, Craig Williams spends significant time in Japan, Corey Brown was in Singapore earlier in the year and is now in France and Tommy Berry will be returning to Hong Kong following the Melbourne spring carnival.

If Australian racing cannot globalise in sync with everything else in the industry (horses, owners and form lines), we run the risk of falling behind on the pecking order. To that extent, the chances of our local jockeys opting to pursue riding elsewhere becomes very possible.

It’s an issue which has plagued New Zealand over the years with good riders like Shane Dye, Jim Cassidy, James McDonald and Michael Walker all moving to Australia.

On the weekend, McDonald produced an outstanding ride on It’s A Dundeel to upset Atlantic Jewel to solidify his standing as one of the best riders in the county, in my opinion at least.

He had a rare brain fade in the Memsie Stakes when he got It’s A Dundeel pocketed late but made amends in the Underwood Stakes. The on-pace ride was completely against It’s A Dundeel’s regular racing style and all planned tactics were thrown out the door when Michael Rodd surprisingly took Atlantic Jewel to the lead.

In his post-race interview, an elated McDonald admitted he put his “head on the chopping block by taking him to the front.” It was a move that paid off and one well beyond his years of experience.

Earlier in the year, 21 year old McDonald spent three months in England in with the Charles Hills stable. He won his first race in the UK with his second ride which prompted other leading trainers to employ his services throughout the season.

The stint also included riding at Royal Ascot where he was one of the youngest jockeys. McDonald almost won on Shropshire who was a rank outsider in the Wokingham Stakes, but ran second.

Reports out of the UK about McDonald have all been glowing. He impressed his peers with his professionalism and the fact that leading English trainers like Mick Channon and Willie Haggas requested his services speaks volumes.

It makes him one of the hottest pieces of property in the global racing industry right now, alongside Moreira.

Ignoring the ridiculous quarantine laws in South Africa, barriers between global jurisdictions are very low. If Australian racing is ever going to improve its overall quality on the global stage, we need to build a desire for the best jockeys, the best trainers and the best horses to want to come.