Mark Pegus is making a riding return to city ranks with a mount at Sandown
Group 1 winning jockey Mark PegusĀ isĀ gettingĀ more seriousĀ inĀ his comeback when he heads to Sandown on Wednesday to ride a horse that he also trains.
Pegus partnersĀ KomachiĀ in the Evergreen Turf Handicap (1300m)Ā as heĀ builds his comeback.
Retiring from the saddle in November 2017, Pegus made his riding return in October at St Arnaud,Ā and in the two months since hasĀ registeredĀ one win, forĀ AustyĀ Coffey at Stawell on December 3.
Pegus made a trip to Darwin last weekendĀ forĀ 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 aĀ while,Ā 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 StawellĀ but aĀ change in his personal circumstances resulted inĀ himĀ makingĀ theĀ 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.Ā That’s the thing, based inĀ 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.”
HisĀ mount on Wednesday is yet to win in seven starts in Australia and putting his trainer’s hat on Pegus said Komachi has his chanceĀ 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 horseĀ and he ranĀ 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,Ā and that was possibly his best run.
“But he’s had a few issues over theĀ time,Ā so I’ve tried to keep him on top of the ground.”
