Future in doubt Apprentice partners

Press, 16 June 1982, Page 32

Future in doubt

Apprentice partners

A Riccarton apprentice, Hillary Ford, and an unraced filly nicknamed Daffy Duck could be a combination worth watching when the filly eventually races. That will probably be at the Ashburton meeting later this month. Daffy Duck, whose race name is Dresden Blue, is an aunty to the 1980 Auckland Cup winner, Blue Denim. A rising three-year-old, Dresden Blue is by Staff Sergeant out of Delph Blue. Delph Blue is also dam of Blue Carlyle, which is dam of Blue Denim. Dresden Blue is trained at Riccarton by Mr Joe Shaw, for his aunt, Mrs L. Sutton and a cousin, Miss M. Sutton. The Christchurch pair have the filly on lease for her racing life from her Whangarei owner, Mr J. L. Donaldson. Hillary Ford is apprenticed to Mr Shaw, and has

had two winning rides from only 12 races. She is one of the top pupils at the Riccarton apprentice school but only learned to ride about 18 months ago. Hillary said she “always wanted to ride” but was never encouraged to do so. Her father, whose first name is Hilaire (same prdnounciation, different spelling) and was himself a jockey during the 1940 s and 19505, suffered a bad fall from a horse named Mozart in Armed’s 1959 Grand National Hurdles at Riccarton. After recovering from his injuries, Mr Ford never returned to race riding. He is now a race-day judge for a number of South Island Racing and Trotting clubs. Hillary Ford joined the Shaw stable in December, 1980, by which time she had learned to ride but knew little about race riding.

Under Mr Shaw’s guidance and with the help of Macho Man, a Rocky MountainToureen entire trained at the Shaw stable, she learned quickly and decided she would stay on and complete her apprenticeship. Hillary said that people who wanted to become apprentice jockeys usually started work in a stable on the understanding that they stayed for six months trial, to see if they liked the work. If they decided to carry on after this first six month trial they, were “signed up” but during the next six months they were able to ride at trials. After the second six-month period they were then able to ride at totalisator race meetings and the year already served counted as part of the apprenticeship. So apprentices would start riding' at

totalisator meetings with a three-year term remaining. Hillary Ford is now at this stage, having had her first race ride at Riccarton in March. Mr Shaw said sometimes young riders served a fiveyear apprenticeship, but the extra year wasoptional. Although Hillary's father . judges at several South Island clubs, he has only judged at one meeting at which she had been riding at so far — at Ashburton in March. On that occasion her father stood down from judging the race she rode in but it later transpired that this was unnecessary.. The Secretary-Manager of the Racing Conference, Mr H. J. Poland, said there was no yule of racing which prevented. a jockey riding in a race judged by a relative.