Jockey Blake Spriggs won his first group one race, the Metropolitan, on October 1, now he’s aiming at Saturday’s $3 million Caulfield Cup riding Sir John.
The Newsroom asked him what was it like to win his first group one race.
“Winning the Metropolitan was a dream come true. To be able to repay the faith the connections had in me was something that’s very special for me,” he said. “The Caulfield Cup is the next step up from the Metropolitan so it makes sense to run.”
The Caulfield Cup in Melbourne is one of the big events in the Spring Racing Carnival agenda and last night’s barrier draw delivered the result the horse’s connections had hoped for. One to six would have been good; Sir John drew barrier five.
Spriggs told The Newsroom about his synergy with the horse.
“Sir John is special to me because he’s such a gentleman and a pleasure to do anything with. His competitive nature and our determination is something I admire. Every time he steps onto the track he’s there to do a job and will get it done.”
He has travelled south early with Sir John to assess the track and familiarise the horse with the venue.
Spriggs with his mount Sir John.
He knows this will be his toughest test to date, so he’s spending as much time as possible working with the horse “getting familiar with the track to make sure we get the best result possible”.
What will be his toughest competition?
“I think horses like Jameka and Real Love are the main dangers but I have respect for the whole field,” he said. – Jesse Mullens
All photos supplied by Blake Spriggs.
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I am the sports editor for the Macleay Newsroom. I enjoy cooking and watching sport intently.
