Emerging apprentice James Innes Jnr has set the tone for things to come, wearing the Godolphin blue to his first city win at Rosehill.
The son of retired jockey James Innes will join Sheikh Mohammed’s team next month as the stable apprentice and his win on Haussmann in the Schweppes (1300m) is the perfect start.
Vashka
Godolphin representative, retired jockey Darren Beadman who was filling in for holidaying trainer John O’Shea, led the cheer squad for Innes who turned 20 on Friday.
“Jimmy is going to join us on the 15th of January and he will be a big asset to us,” Beadman said.
“I’m really happy for him that he has got his first city winner. He has ridden a few for us on the provincial circuit but this is great.”
Although he was sidelined for a year after a fall in 2012, Innes said there was never any doubt about his career choice and he was excited about what lay ahead.
“I left school in Year 10 because there was nothing else I was interested in,” he said.
“Being in the game all my life because of Dad meant I was always going to be a jockey.
“I started with Craig Carmody then I broke a few bones so had to have a year off.
“But I came back and spent some time with Mick Kent in Victoria and now with Keith Dryden at Canberra.
“It’s a great feeling to ride my first city winner for Godolphin and I’m really looking forward to next month.”
Innes showed a maturity beyond his years on Haussmann, sticking to the fence to get the $16 chance home by a half length from $3.80 favourite Champagne Cath.
“I was confident to stick to the fence because I could see the other jockeys didn’t want to be there,” Innes said.
“I waited for the run I knew would come and the horse took it and won well.”
The win was the middle leg of a winning treble for Godolphin with debutante Ottoman overcoming a bad start to claim the two-year-old race and assume favouritism for the Golden Slipper in March.
Vashka completed the trio when he led all the way with Blake Shinn controlling the TAB Rewards Hcp (1500m).
It was Vashka’s fourth successive win and his fifth from just 10 starts.
“Every time John has raised the bar, this horse has leapt over it,” Beadman said.
