Sydney’s premier jockey Nash Rawiller hasn’t given up on cracking a century of metropolitan winners this season after moving to within eight of the milestone at Rosehill on Saturday.
Rawiller’s solitary win at Rosehill came aboard Future Solution in the Inglis $2.6 Million Race Series Handicap (1500m) and the hoop admitted he would have loved to have ridden a couple more to edge even closer to 100 with just four meetings of the season remaining.
“It would have been nice to come away with a few winners today to make it a more realistic goal, but it’s still there,” Rawiller said.
Rawiller missed out in his other rides at Rosehill with favourites Rain Melody (seventh) and Hurrara (second) failing to build on the hoop’s total.
Altius, who started $5 third favourite in the De Bortoli Wines Handicap (1400m), came in third at Rawiller’s only other ride on the eight-race program.
Rawiller already has his second straight Sydney jockeys’ premiership in the bag and decided to miss the previous three metropolitan meetings to take a break with his family during the school holidays.
“I’m glad I had the break when I did,” he said.
“I can see the winning post now, that’s the spring carnival, and it’s full steam ahead from here.”
The racing season draws to a close at the end of this month with two Wednesday fixtures and two Saturday meetings still remaining for Rawiller to try to reach the century mark.
“Once I had the premiership wrapped up it was certainly a goal to set myself in the past month and a half,” Rawiller said.
“But with all the wet tracks we’ve had it kind of makes it harder because it doesn’t really allow you to get on a roll. You are relying on a lot more luck, you can have the right rides but not necessarily the right tracks to suit them.
“Hopefully I can give it a shot anyway.”
AAP TURF
