Top Sydney jockey Jason Collett will be bidding to consolidate his strong start to the season with a handy book of rides at the Festival Stakes meeting at Rosehill.
Coming off his best ever year in 2023-24 when he rode 72 city winners, Collett currently sits third on the premiership with 23 metropolitan successes.
He believes a combination of hard work and getting on the right horses will be the key to his continued success this term as he looks to build momentum and consistency into the summer.
“I’m happy enough, but you can always improve,” Collett said of his season so far.
“It started off well. I had a couple of suspensions there during October which just slowed my momentum, but I feel like it’s picking up now.
“I can set goals, but I find it comes back to the cattle I’m on and to get the cattle, I need to get the process right and do things to get on the cattle.
“Consistency is probably the main thing.”
Collett has rides in nine of the 10 races at Rosehill on Saturday, including all three black-type races.
He partners Godolphin sprinter Contemporary ($7) in the Listed Starlight Stakes (1100m), who will be striving to enhance his already impressive first-up record of two wins and two placings from six attempts.
Collett reunites with Kintyre ($11) in the Group 3 Festival Stakes (1500m), his trainer Gary Portelli having flagged that the horse will be ridden more conservatively this weekend as he looks to rebound from an unplaced effort in the Golden Eagle.
The Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald-trained Naval College rounds out Collett’s stakes contingent in the Listed ATC Cup (2000m) and at $6, is regarded as one of the leading chances.
The gelding is expected to be nearing peak fitness after two encouraging return runs, highlighted by a last-start third to Queenslander Nikau Spur in The Beauford (2300m) at Newcastle.
