Mark Pegus is making a riding return to city ranks with a mount at Sandown
Group 1 winning jockey Mark Pegus is getting more serious in his comeback when he heads to Sandown on Wednesday to ride a horse that he also trains.
Pegus partners Komachi in the Evergreen Turf Handicap (1300m) as he builds his comeback.
Retiring from the saddle in November 2017, Pegus made his riding return in October at St Arnaud, and in the two months since has registered one win, for Austy Coffey at Stawell on December 3.
Pegus made a trip to Darwin last weekend for three rides without troubling the scorers.
“I went up there to ride for a mate of mine, Chris Nash,” Pegus said.
“I hadn’t seen him for a while, so I thought I’d go up and have a weekend up there.
“The horses didn’t go that good, but it was good to catch up with Chris.”
In his break from riding, Pegus turned his hand to training from a base at Stawell but a change in his personal circumstances resulted in him making the return to the saddle.
“I started riding a few weeks ago and I’ll just poke along through until Christmas and then probably get a bit more serious,” Pegus said.
“I have enjoyed being back at the races again. That’s the thing, based in Stawell I haven’t been seeing anyone, so I need to get out and about and start seeing people again, and that’s what riding is doing.”
His mount on Wednesday is yet to win in seven starts in Australia and putting his trainer’s hat on Pegus said Komachi has his chance to win on Wednesday.
Pegus said the track conditions, currently a Soft 6, should not pose a problem.
“He hasn’t had much luck since I’ve had him here,” Pegus said.
“He should have nearly won at Werribee. Maybe not beaten the winner, but he should have beaten the second horse and he ran out of condition at Casterton at his start before.
“I wouldn’t rule him out on a soft track. At his first start for us at Ballarat, it was on a soft track, and that was possibly his best run.
“But he’s had a few issues over the time, so I’ve tried to keep him on top of the ground.”
