Jeff Lloyd is locked in a struggle with William Pike to be Australia's leading jockey
Jeff Lloyd won’t rest on his laurels after winning the Magic Millions Classic on Houtzen and is poised to become the first jockey to ride 100 winners for the season.
The veteran South African expat is locked in a fascinating struggle with Perth’s William Pike to be Australia’s leading jockey.
Lloyd rode a double on Friday at Doomben and Houtzen at Saturday’s Magic Millions meeting to reach 98 winners for the season, one ahead of Pike.
He has the metropolitan premiership at his mercy with 78 winners which is 33 ahead of Robbie Fradd.
Lloyd is chasing Chris Munce’s Queensland metropolitan record of 103.
He missed Sunday’s Sunshine Coast meeting but is set to ride at Doomben on Wednesday and Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Pike had four scheduled rides at Pinjarra on Sunday.
With his average at nearly four winners a week Lloyd should bring up his century this week.
“It has been a great year. This time last year I was struggling to get one or two rides at the Magic Millions meeting and battling around for rides,” Lloyd said.
“Now I am riding top class horse horses like Houtzen and a wonderful colt like Winning Rupert.”
Lloyd took the defeat of Winning Rupert, who was odds-on favourite in the Magic Millions Guineas, on the chin.
“I had a good run and was confident coming to the corner. But he did not have much in the final 100 metres. It might have been the 1400 metres,” he said.
Winning Rupert was found to be short in his action in a foreleg after the race having been cleared to run on Friday.
