NYAH West jockey Madison Lloyd celebrated her first day in the saddle as a senior jockey with a blistering win at Swan Hill for local trainer Jane Duncan.
After her consistently high-profile apprentice years, the 22-year-old has a solid base of 191 career wins and more than $7 million in prizemoney across Victoria, NSW and South Australia as she enters the next stage of her career.
And one of Lloyd’s apprentice highlights was riding into racing history by winning the $200,000 Wangoom Handicap at Warrnambool aboard Frankie Pinot in May last year.
She was the first female apprentice to win the listed event – and only the second woman to win in the race’s 142-year history.
Most amazing of all, she did it with a broken leg, which she forgot to mention to anyone until after the race.
Lloyd had a number of falls and injuries during her apprenticeship but overcame them all to establish herself as one of the industry’s emerging talents.
On Tuesday, she had her first win on her first day as a senior jockey, winning the $27,000 Footts Swan Hill Demolition Group Maiden Plate at Swan Hill.
“To get a win on day one as a senior rider is really good, and especially for Jane, but as a senior it is going to be hard, but you just have to keep working hard at it and doing the best you can,” Lloyd says.
The hardest part of the transition for new senior jockeys is getting rides on the top horses which were available when they had apprentice weight claims and for which they now have to compete with the top jockeys to get.
“I’ve already had a lot of highlights and had a lot of marvellous support across the four years of my apprenticeship, and I can’t thank everyone enough,” she added.
“I have learnt a lot and there is still a lot to learn.”
Swan Hill trainer Nathan Hobson, who gave Lloyd her apprenticeship and then, two years later, told her it was time to head to the city and another stable to get access to more trainers, horses and meetings, was also there to watch her breakthrough senior moment, which he described as an amazing transformation.
“She has come a long way from the 16-year-old kid who showed up in my stables, but she had a great work ethic and it has taken her a long way,” Hobson says.
“Just as her equally great attitude has also helped along that way.”
“We’re probably a bit lucky up this way as we have a lot of non-TAB meetings where people can learn their craft without being watched so closely and being judged.
“And we had a lot of winners together in her first couple of years, so it is great to see her out of her time.”
