As early as it is in the season, Ben Thompson’s four-timer at Eagle Farm on Saturday served as a stark reminder to any other rider harbouring Brisbane Jockey Premiership ambitions that, all things being equal, Thompson is going to be difficult to beat in that regard … but, in spite of his inspired start to the season, Thompson, typically, is not about to get ahead of himself.
“I don’t like to look too far ahead,” said Thompson. “My biggest goal is to stay consistent. I am constantly reviewing myself … constantly assessing how I am performing.
“If I do think there is a kink to be knotted out, I do that asap. That’s sort of the main thing I stay conscious of … improving my skills, preparing well and being consistent. If I’m ticking those three boxes, everything else should go the way I would like it to.”
And unfolding the way he would like it to do … is exactly Thompson’s current state of play.
Up to last Saturday, from the start of August, Thompson has had 80 metropolitan rides, 23 rides more than the next busiest jockey. To put that in perspective, taking an average meeting at eight races, that means that Thompson has ridden the equivalent of close to three meetings more than any other rider.
That speaks to the level of demand for his services.
Thompson’s sixteen Metropolitan winners so far this season … five more than anybody else … have come at a 20.0 percent winning strike rate. That winning percentage is second only to Ryan Maloney’s impressive 27.5 percent.
That speaks to his expertise in the saddle.
The prize-money earned by Thompson’s mounts this season is closing on a million ($974 610), a figure which is more than double that earned by the mounts of any other rider bar Emily Lang ($612 420).
Thompson only returned to Queensland at the start of the season after completing a riding contract in Hong Kong, which can be a valuable experience for any rider keen to learn from all that is on offer in the Hong Kong racing precinct.
“I was confident before resuming in Australia that I was returning a better rider than I was seventeen months earlier,” stated Thompson. “You can’t buy experience and, riding alongside some of the world’s top riders, I thought there were takeaways that I was bringing home with me … not only on the track but off the track.
“Everything is so fast paced in Hong Kong so you have to think and react quickly. I am very grateful for the experience in Hong Kong and it’s played a big factor, I feel, in what I am achieving now.
“i am also grateful for receiving great support here which is obviously crucial to any success I am having. I’m very, very grateful for the support I am being given.”
That strong support base has already included the likes of champion trainers Chris Waller, Ciaron Maher and Tony Gollan … and Thompson is thriving as he continues to build a winning culture with these, and other, top stables.
“To be honest, once upon a time … when I was younger … I feel I would have felt the pressure and the weight of expectation riding for the biggest stable, but as time has gone on and I’ve become more experienced, I view it differently now,” said Thompson.
“Riding for leading trainers now gives me a lot of confidence. Their resumes speak for themselves and being booked to ride for … like you say, Chris Waller, Tony Gollan and Ciaron Maher … I just have a lot of confidence riding for them and confidence in the horses they have.
“Yeah, it’s been going great … and it’s been fantastic resuming riding in Queensland.”