The return to Sydney of last season’s champion apprentice Chad Schofield on Saturday is set to co-incide with a milestone for the highly-rated rider.
Schofield needs one winner at Randwick to outride his claim and is well-placed to achieve the feat with a full book of rides including favourite Motivado for his boss David Hayes in the feature WJ McKell Cup.
Schofield won the Sydney apprentices’ title last year before joining the Hayes team, based at Euroa in Victoria, early in the 2012-13 season.
While Schofield’s season has been a chequered one with eight careless riding suspensions and one improper riding charge, he is still 12 wins clear in the Melbourne apprentices’ premiership.
“And if he wins the (Melbourne) premiership this season, he’ll be the first apprentice to win a New South Wales and a Victorian (metropolitan) title,” Hayes said.
“So he’s truly a nationally-rated rider and testament to that is that he’s going to Sydney for me this week and he got a full book of rides.”
Motivado, a last start Group Three winner in Adelaide, is one of two Hayes-trained mounts for Schofield at Randwick while Sydney’s leading trainer Chris Waller has called on the apprentice for three rides including Oompa Loompa who is equal favourite in the second event.
