Riding horses is a passion for Jake Bayliss and he is striving to finish his apprenticeship on a winning note at the final city meeting of the season.
Bayliss, 22, has three rides at Caulfield on Saturday.
“I’d love to finish my apprenticeship on a good note with a winner,” Bayliss said.
“Probably Rocket Commander is my best chance in the first race.”
Bayliss will leave for a short holiday to Bali on Sunday with fellow apprentices Beau Mertens, Ben Thompson and Ben Allen before he begins life as a senior jockey.
“The boys are gone for about ten days but I only made mine six days so I can get straight back to trackwork on the Saturday morning and start my path as a senior,” Bayliss said.
“I’m going to have to work extra hard.”
Bayliss and his younger brother Regan moved to Victoria as teenagers with their father Jamie to pursue careers as jockeys.
“We don’t know anything else but riding horses. It’s our passion,” he said.
“We left family and friends all in Queensland just to become jockeys, so I think that speaks for itself. That’s a big step.
“We established ourselves down here and I think we’ve both done pretty well.”
Bayiss has ridden 13 city winners in Melbourne this season and 41 in total while Regan finished his apprenticeship earlier this year after outriding his claim.
Regan won the Group One Newmarket Handicap on Redkirk Warrior in March and returns to city racing on Saturday after being sidelined for more than two months recovering from a broken wrist.
Jake Bayliss said it was a nervous period heading into the senior ranks but he was also looking forward to the next chapter.
“It’s going to be different being your own boss,” he said.
“I had a 5-1/2 year apprenticeship, so I’ve always had someone to work for.
“I’m definitely going to be working twice as hard and hopefully keep my foot in the door with the stables like David Hayes and Mike Moroney who have supported me a great deal towards the end of my apprenticeship.”
He also plans to ride work at Cranbourne for Robbie Laing and Mick Kent who was his master until Bayliss was loaned out to the Lindsay Park team for the past three months.
