The extravagant salute said it all.
Apprentice Bailey Wheeler has been having a ball recently riding winner after winner and his salute on the Annabel Neasham trained Fancy Man in the featured Queensland Cup at Eagle Farm was just part of a continuation of that run of success, although Wheeler’s reaction as he took Fancy Man through the line underlined the particular pleasure he obviously felt at landing another feature race victory.
It was a peach of a ride from Wheeler and it brought up a double for the young rider on the day after he had earlier claimed victory on the Stuart Kendrick trained Pocket Full.
Those results would have pushed the unfortunate false start Wheeler had to the day to a distance memory and it is a credit to Wheeler’s mental toughness that the unhappy hiccup that surrounded the running of the first race did not have any lingering negative impact on Wheeler once he was able to set about doing his job.
Wheeler, a 3kg claiming apprentice in town, did not make it to the track in time to take his mount on the Kendrick trained Lost In Transit in the opening race on the card.
As a consequence, Wheeler was replaced on Lost In Transit by Justin Huxtable, an equally competent rider but one without the advantage of that 3kg claim, meaning that Lost In Transit had to carry 57.5kg instead of the 54.5kg he would have done with Wheeler in the saddle, a statistic which arguably ultimately played a part in the outcome with the son of Speith, who was bidding for a fifth straight win, only being denied by a narrow margin.
“He did owe me one from missing the earlier one,” said Kendrick, speaking after Wheeler had taken Pocket Full to back-to-back wins in a case of all’s well that ends well.
With Wheeler adding a Metropolitan double to the treble he rode last Saturday, he has now edged marginally past Cejay Graham (who also had a winner … Preached … on the day) in the Brisbane Apprentice Jockey’s Premiership to lead that chase by 16.5 wins to 16 wins.
Early days, but it is currently a fascinating cut and thrust battle between these two riders.
Only two other apprentices … Jake Molloy (two winners) and Casey Waddell (one winner) have ridden a Metropolitan winner in Queensland this season.
