Tegan Harrison will call on the expertise of former champion jockey Darren Beadman to give her some local knowledge as she prepares for her Randwick debut.
Harrison will ride Gold Coast-trained outsider Rudy in the Saturday’s $3 million Group One Doncaster Mile and says she could not have dreamed of a better race for her first Randwick experience.
She is hoping to join Michelle Payne, winner of the Melbourne Cup on Prince of Penzance, and Kathy O’Hara who won last week’s Vinery Stud Stakes on Single Gaze, as female jockeys to ride Group One winners this season.
Harrison has been in great overall form having ridden 74 winners which has her in equal 12th place on the national jockeys premiership.
She said John Page, the husband of trainer Helen Page, had arranged for Beadman to take her around the famous racecourse and provide tips on the best way to ride the track.
Beadman rode many Randwick winners including Super Impose in the 1991 Doncaster and Epsom Handicaps over the tough 1600 metres.
“Of course I am excited. It will be great to get advice from Darren as he knows the track backwards,” Harrison said.
It is fate the Brisbane jockey will have a Group One ride aboard Rudy who has not won a race since the 2014 Villiers Stakes.
“I did ride Rudy in track work before he had a race start and was aboard him for his early trials. But I was away for three months and missed his early runs,” Harrison said.
“I have since had four rides on him for two wins, a third in the (Listed) Gunsynd Plate and a fifth in the (Group Three) Rough Habit Plate.”
“The horse has to prove nothing to me. I know how good he is. He won’t be out of place in the field.”
Harrison said she hoped the track would remain soft for Rudy who ran fourth in last year’s Doncaster.
“He is good in the dry as well and it is just some of the others won’t handle it,” she said.
“His two runs in Sydney this time have been good and we have only 50 kilograms.
“I just need to get some cover early from his barrier of 15. Riding in big races before big crowds is what it is all about. And they don’t get much bigger than the first day of The Championships.”
