Another top jockey is on the move and she is about to further boost the riding ranks in Queensland.
Samantha Collett, a Premiership winning jockey in New Zealand in 2018, has confirmed that she will now head for Queensland on October 16 and will thus miss the last day of the Hawkes Bay Carnival after her original flight, scheduled for October 19, was cancelled.
The fact that Collett finished second behind Danielle Johnson last season and that she has finished in the top tier of riders on the Jockey’s Premiership ladder in all of the last five years has cemented Collett’s high standing in New Zealand and her presence there in the coming months is sure to be missed.
Collett rode in Queensland for a short time over the Winter and that experience clearly whetted her appetite for what she describes as a ‘new challenge.’
Talking to the New Zealand Herald, Collett explained her decision.
“I rode a bit in Queensland over the winter and loved it there and I made some really good contacts and had strong support even without chasing rides too much. I am going to try and establish myself there so will be really open to taking rides anywhere,” said Collett.
“The time is right for me to try it.”
Anything else?
And it is warm,” said Collett.
“It looks like I will need to go into quarantine when I get there but I will be out in time for November racing, and I want to give it a real go.”
Jockeys in an already competitive riding market in Brisbane have been put on notice.
The chase for good rides is about to get just that little bit tougher.
