Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michael Rodd has registered his first winner since returning to Victorian racing, guiding the Lindsey Smith-trained Capital Zous to victory at Hamilton.
Rodd had been based in Singapore since 2015 but, with racing shut down there because of the coronavirus pandemic, he is one of three jockeys who returned to Victoria to continue riding.
After undergoing two weeks quarantine upon his return to Melbourne, Rodd started back with four rides at Flemington on Saturday and one on Sunday at Sandown, without a winner.
He made the trip to Hamilton in country Victoria for one ride on Tuesday and steered three-year-old gelding Capital Zous, the $1.85 favourite, to a 1-1/4-length win on debut in a 1200m maiden.
Rodd has won a number of Australia’s high-profile races including the 2007 Melbourne Cup on Efficient and the 2008 Cox Plate on Maldivian.