As they line up for the $1.3million Kosciuszko at Randwick on Saturday, an eerily familiar but oddly never seen before set of silks will be worn by jockey Sam Clipperton.
And he will ride INTUITION (Street Cry-Radar) in the race, a big horse trained by Kurt Goldman.
The silks, as you can see, are designed in colour and style of the Canberra Raiders jersey. The Raiders will play their Prelim semi-final final for a place in the NRL Grand Final, this Friday night.
Their captain is horse racing fan, Jarrod Croker.
And his horse, the one he owns, is Intuition.
So, it all comes together for you now, but what the main story here is that Intuition, who was purchased off Sheikh Mohammed by Croker, will carry the lime green silks emblazoned with Ricky Stuart’s name.
And Stuart is the coach of the Raiders.
He also is the founder of the Ricky Stuart Foundation, a charitable organisation that raises both money and awareness for autism in a unique way.
With around 1.8% of all Aussie kids between the ages of 10 and 12 having some form of autism, my son included, the Ricky Stuart House and the Foundation that funds it, was set up to help the extended families of those on that spectrum.
“We are here to create awareness and an understanding of what autism is, to support the aftercare of autistic people and help to raise funds to provide downtime for the supporting families and their daily struggles,” said the master coach who represented Australia in both rugby league and rugby union while a player.
His Ricky Stuart House, made possible by donations from many people and organisations such as GIO, and PwC is a place where kids on the spectrum can go, have fun and be cared for while their family finds some down time to relax.
Once the Kosciuszko is run, the unique silks will be signed by Sam Clipperton, Ricky Stuart and Jarrod Crocket. They will then be auctioned and ALL proceeds from the auction will go towards the Ricky Stuart Foundation.
Stuart’s daughter, Emma, is on the spectrum so the Foundation, what it stands for, how it helps and more importantly, who it helps, is very close to Stuart.
May God give Intuition, who is resuming from a spell in the big race, the strength to get home for all concerned.
