Twelve months ago Dylan Gibbons won the $500,000 Four Pillars Midway in Sydney, then headed south for his first ride (Okita Soushi) in the Melbourne Cup at Flemington a few days later.
He was in his last year as an apprentice and, by his own standards, the now senior Newcastle jockey has had a very quiet start to the new season with only four winners to date – and none of them have been in the city.
He hasn’t lost his confidence however, and is looking forward to Kembla Grange mare Fugitiva giving him the opportunity to kick-start the 2024-25 racing year by again winning the Four Pillars Midway (1500m) at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.
“I feel Fugitiva is the right type for the Four Pillars,” Gibbons said on Thursday.
“She is similar to my winner last year (Sweet Mercy) in that they both get back in the second half of the field, but are strong at the end.
“Fugitiva is in great form, is fit and is also drawn similarly to when Sweet Mercy won the race last year.”
Sweet Mercy, a $19 chance, had 58kg and jumped from barrier nine in a capacity line-up of 20 when she came from 12th at the 400m to defeat Oakfield Waratah and Burning Need in last year’s Four Pillars.
She backed up a week after finishing seventh at Royal Randwick in a Benchmark 78 Handicap (1400m), whereas Fugitiva (who has drawn barrier eight) is coming off three wins – albeit in provincial grade – from her last five starts.
Gibbons has ridden the four-year-old mare at her last two starts for a Kembla Grange Midway Benchmark 64 Handicap (1400m) victory on October 3, defeating subsequent winner Trapeze Pleasure, and a photo-finish second to Four Pillars rival Kingston Charm (whom she meets 1kg better) in a Hawkesbury Midway Benchmark 68 Handicap (1500m) a fortnight later.
In a typically wide market, Fugitiva was a $19 chance with TAB.com.au on Thursday morning, with Hawkesbury three-year-old Alabama State the $6.50 favorite.
Fugitiva is one of three representatives for leading trainers Rob and Luke Price (the others are Victory Lane and Extreme Freedom) in the Four Pillars.
Gibbons’ former “stablemate”, Newcastle apprentice Ben Osmond, partners Victory Lane, and Tyler Schiller has the mount on Extreme Freedom.
Gibbons also rides Griff for Ciaron Maher (for whom he clinched his maiden Group 1 triumph on Explosive Jack in last year’s Sydney Cup) in the $10m Golden Eagle (1500m) at Rosehill.
“He is a Group 1 winner (the Caulfield Guineas 12 months ago) and has had experience at Rosehill, racing three times there earlier in his career,” he said.
Gibbons says he is the healthiest he has been in his riding career, which began in late July, 2020 and so far has netted him 394 winners, including a benchmark 116 in 2021-22 and 75 last season.
Whilst he won’t be at Flemington for this year’s Melbourne Cup, he also has another good chance in a feature race the same day, scoring the ride on Hezashocka for Melbourne trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr in Tuesday’s $3m The Big Dance (1600m) at Randwick.
Hezashocka qualified by winning the Gosford Gold Cup (2200m) held at Newcastle in May, and is first-up after finishing fifth in the Listed Caloundra Cup (2400m) in mid-July on heavy ground.
Story John Curtis, October 31, 2024 - Pics Bradley Photos
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