Leading Australian jockey Luke Currie will make his first appearance in New Zealand with seven rides on Saturday’s Group One card at Trentham.
Currie has ridden more than 1450 winners in his homeland, 13 of them at Group One level. He is perhaps best known for his association with Hey Doc, who he rode to victory in the Gr.1 Australian Guineas (1600m), Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) and two editions of the Manikato Stakes (1200m). He also won the Gr.1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) and William Reid Stakes (1200m) aboard star filly Sunlight.
Riding overseas is nothing new for Currie, who has ridden 20 winners in Hong Kong, 14 in Mauritius, 13 in Singapore and one in Malaysia. But New Zealand is a brand-new addition to that list.
“It’s my first time riding here, so I’m really looking forward to it,” the 43-year-old said. “I’ve always wanted to come over and ride here, but for one reason or another it hasn’t worked out until now. This weekend was a nice opportunity to do it, and I jumped at the chance. I’ve been fortunate enough to pick up some nice rides.”
Currie has crossed the Tasman after an invitation from Brad Taylor, who spent seven years with Anthony and Sam Freedman’s stable in Victoria before returning home earlier this year to take up the role of General Manager of Racing with RACE, the operator of Awapuni and Trentham racecourses.
“I always had a good relationship with Brad Taylor when he worked with Freedman Racing,” Currie said. “I’ve had quite a lot of success riding for that stable over the years, and many of those rides came about through Brad.
“He spoke to my manager Travis Johnson about the possibility of coming over. I had a few rides lined up for the Ballarat Cup meeting at home on the same day, but I thought this was a nice chance to come over for a Group One meeting. Hopefully I can build some relationships and possibly set up a few opportunities to ride here again in the future.”
That could include the internationally famous Karaka Millions meeting at Ellerslie on January 25. Currie’s rides on Saturday include the unbeaten filly Too Sweet in the Devan Plastics 2YO (1000m). The daughter of Satono Aladdin earned $23,000 from her debut victory at Trentham in October, which is likely enough to secure her a place in the starting gate for the Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m).
“Everyone I’ve spoken to has told me what an awesome day’s racing the Karaka Millions is,” Currie said. “So if that happened to work out, it’s definitely one that I’d love to come over and experience for myself.”
Too Sweet is trained by Roydon Bergerson, whose Awapuni stable will also provide Currie with his Group One ride in Saturday’s TAB Mufhasa Classic (1600m).
Currie will ride Town Cryer, whose 35-start career has produced eight wins, 13 placings and more than $496,000 in prize-money. The daughter of Tavistock has black-type victories to her name in the Gr.3 Taranaki Breeders’ Stakes (1400m), Gr.3 Thompson Handicap (1600m), Listed Anzac Mile (1600m) and Listed Wairarapa Breeders’ Stakes (1600m), and she was runner-up behind Belclare in this year’s Gr.1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m).
“She’s such a consistent mare,” Currie said. “She puts herself on the speed and makes her own luck. No Group One races are easy to win, but I think she’s going to give me a nice chance. I’m looking forward to riding her.”