Chad Schofield begins the next phase of his career as a senior jockey on Friday.
He was granted approval this week from Racing Victoria to become a senior rider and returns from his latest careless riding suspension at Pakenham.
Schofield, who was apprenticed to David Hayes, had been unsuccessful in an application to finish his apprenticeship at the end of last season after outriding his claim.
He was due to finish his apprenticeship at the end of July this year.
“Both the Stewards and Mr Hayes felt that Chad was not ready to be elevated to a senior rider at the end of last season, but he’s now six months older and has won a Cox Plate,” Racing Victoria’s chief steward Terry Bailey said.
“Chad has expressed a desire to ride work for a range of stables rather than be tied exclusively to Mr Hayes, so we felt the time was now right for his application to become a jockey to be approved.”
He has two rides at Pakenham and four rides at Flemington on Saturday.
Schofield has added to his Flemington book of rides, replacing the injured Paul Gatt on three-year-old Kushadasi in the Group Three CS Hayes Stakes.
His Flemington book includes Aeronautical in the Group One Lightning Stakes.
Schofield hit the headlines this week after asking his boss David Hayes if he could take one morning a week off to ride trackwork elsewhere.
The Cox Plate-winning apprentice said Hayes was not impressed with that and stood him down from riding for his stable for three weeks to consider his future as the stable’s jockey.
