A four-kilogram claiming apprentice, who has won one race in her twenty career rides thus far, has been entrusted with a leading role at Longreach on Saturday where national attention will be focussed on that grand old stager Fab’s Cowboy as the winner of fifty-four races (a modern-day record), and with one hundred placed finishes behind his name, faces the starter one last time.
Apprentice Shakira Bailey, who only had her first race ride at the start of May and who scored her first, confidence building career win at Gympie last Saturday, has been handed the reins of Fab’s Cowboy, a 158-race veteran, by the gelding’s trainer Bevan Johnson for the last hurrah of his gallant twelve-year-old’s career.
You could call it the ultimate blend of youth and experience.
The 4kg claim plays two distinct roles. It provides a kind touch to Fab’s Cowboy, lessening the load he would have had to carry in his final assignment … and that drop in weight also theoretically improves his chances of going out on a high with a victory.
Win, lose or draw … Saturday is likely to be a day that Bailey will remember for a long time and, wherever she ends up in the future, the experience is sure to establish a lasting bond between the young rider and country racing and an appreciation of the essential service it provides to the industry.
