HARD working Moe apprentice jockey Caitlin King will go on three months loan to top Riverina trainer Brett Cavanough.
She will commence her stint this week and is looking forward to the potential adventure of a lifetime, joining the busy Albury stable.
Caitlin is a third year Racing Victoria apprentice indentured to Moe trainer Catherine Martindale.
She is currently going through the jump out and official trial stage of her licensing, and is hopeful of receiving her ticket to ride in race while Albury based.
A natural light weight, Caitlin will be able to ride comfortably at 51 kilograms.
Lilly Coombe, a fellow apprentice jockey and good friend, is apprenticed to Cavanough, so Caitlin is keen to catch up with a friendly face.
However she is under no illusions about the difficulty of the work ahead, with the Cavanough yard presently having 75 horses in full work.
Caitlin will continue to attend apprentice school at RV headquarters at Flemington, even though she will be working for a New South Wales based trainer.
It will be the RV apprentice jockey coaches who will ultimately decide when she is right to ride in professional races.
Caitlin is the first to admit, “I do need to ride in a few more trials for experience and to neaten myself up”.
She presently rides seven to 12 horses in work each morning for Moe trainers Len Xuereb, Ian Jones, Mervyn Moser, Russell Cluning, Charlie Gafa, Daryl Blackshaw, Mick Templeton, Paul and Tracey Templeton, and her master Martindale.
Caitlin is keen to come back to Moe a licensed apprentice and ride for the trainers who have supported her at the track for the past three years.
She currently attends RV’s apprentice school with fellow third year apprentices Dylan Caboche, Lorelle Crow, Ben Thompson, Beau Mertens, Boris Thornton and Regan Bayliss, some of whom are already household names.
THE 2015 jumping season commenced at Ballarat with an impressive win by the free running Bairnsdale galloper Marlo Man.
The Jackson Pallot trained six year-old son of former champion Elvstroem was well fancied each way ($7) in the $20,000 BM125 3200 metre steeplechase and certainly ran right up to his recent great trial form.
Marlo Man, with Patrick Flood aboard, was quickly freewheeling in front, and although making few mistakes (still runs out his jumps), and looking to be under siege at the 600 metre mark, the horse knuckled down and raced away for an impressive four-length win over Red Eye Special (Fran Houlahan and Brian Johnston) and Rabbuka (Eric Musgrove).
All chasers completed the course safely.
Irish born jockey Patrick Flood was full of praise for Marlo Man, who was making his Steeplechase debut.
“He was very keen, no one wanted to lead, he made a couple of little mistakes, which worked out well as it steadied him and settled him down,” Flood said.
“They got to me, but I knew I still had plenty of horse, it was just a matter of getting him over the last two safely.
“It’s my first sit on him, and the lads who have schooled him have done a great job.
“He was fit and ready for the day, he was good and has a future.”
It was Marlo Man’s second win from 28 starts, and has now amassed $44,980 in prize money.
