Melbourne’s premiership-leading jockey Damian Lane will be out to make an impact in his home state of Western Australia in the coming weeks as he chases more feature race success.
Lane has ridden 23 city winners in Melbourne this season to be leading the premiership by six.
His victories during the spring included Group One wins on Humidor in the Makybe Diva Stakes and Tosen Stardom in the Toorak Handicap and $2 million Emirates Stakes.
Lane is from Bunbury in Western Australia and the 23-year-old has established himself as one of Melbourne’s leading riders in recent seasons.
With the major races of the Melbourne spring now over, the Group One attention shifts to Perth with a $1 million Group One race to be held on each of the next three Saturdays at Ascot.
And Lane will be there.
“It’s good to go back,” Lane said.
“It’s good racing and good prize money.
“I’ll be riding there the next three Saturdays.”
Lane is booked to ride the Darren Weir-trained Ulmann in Saturday’s Railway Stakes (1600m) while the following Saturday he is booked for Godolphin’s Impending in the Winterbottom Stakes (1200m).
Impending in the current favourite for the weight-for-age sprint.
The final Group One race of 2017 is the Kingston Town Stakes (1800m) which Lane won last year on the Weir-trained Stratum Star.
It was Lane’s first Group One win in WA and the jockey said he was yet to lock in his ride for the weight-for-age race on December 9.
Ulmann has had three starts this spring in Melbourne, finishing unplaced in the Gilgai Stakes first-up before winning the Group Three Moonga Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on October 21.
At his most recent start, the six-year-old finished fourth in a Group Three 1400m race, won by Hellova Street, during the Melbourne Cup carrnival at Flemington on November 9.
Ulmann is at $15 for the Railway with last year’s winner Scales Of Justice $5.50 favourite ahead of Ulmann’s stablemate Black Heart Bart $6.
Impending, who finished third in the $1 million Darley Classic last start, is the $3.70 favourite for the Winterbottom on December 2 while Black Heart Bart heads the Kingston Town Stakes market at $5 ahead of Doncaster Mile winner It’s Somewhat and Scales Of Justice ($6).
