In-form jockey Nash Rawiller may be dominating the headlines in Sydney but his Victorian-based brother Brad has quietly gone about accumulating enough wins to put him on top of the Australia-wide premiership.
Despite spending almost three months on the sidelines though suspension and a broken foot, Brad Rawiller has won 166-1/2 races so far this season – well ahead of second placed hoop Greg Ryan on 155.
Rawiller capped off what has been a satisfying season with a double at Caulfield on Saturday including the feature race, the Bletchingly Stakes on the Clinton Mcdonald-trained Second Effort.
He told radio station RSN on Monday that at one stage he didn’t hold much prospect for the season after coming back from suspension on Oaks Day and then being unable to get a ride for the last two meetings of the Flemington carnival.
“I thought that’s it, back to the drawing board and knuckle down and ride every day to get myself back into form,” Rawiller said.
“Those next three months is where I really won the most of my winners – about 80 – but then unfortunately leading into the autumn I got suspended, and then suspended again.
“What I’ve been able to draw from it, is to just hang in there and this season I ended up with 35 city winners which is a pretty good number considering I missed so much.”
Rawiller has been a freelancer for his entire career with regular support from mainstream trainers like Darren Weir and Michael Kent.
He said that while he gives priority to those two stables, he also rides for other trainers such as Luke Oliver, John McArdle and Clinton and Ross McDonald.
“It’s a tough job being a jockey and three-quarters of it is mental strength,” Rawiller said,.
“You’ve got to be physically tough but mentally tough is probably every but as important.
“I’ve been riding for a long time and know how important it is going to the races and enjoying yourself.”
His brother Nash has also had to overcome injury and suspensions during the season but has made a late charge at the Sydney premiership, overtaking Hugh Bowman on Saturday with a winning quartet at Randwick.
With just a seven-race meeting at Warwick Farm on Wednesday to complete the season’s racing, Nash Rawiller has a 2-1/2 win lead over Bowman while Brad Rawiller will aim to add to his total at Mornington and Ballarat over the next two days.
