Jockey

Melbourne Cup jockey Michael Rodd only began horse riding after realising his slight frame was not suited to the rigours of work as a carpenter’s apprentice. Tomorrow he will partner the Lloyd Williams-owned Efficient in the Cup.

Weighing in at just 49kg at age 16, Rodd says he quickly worked out that he was not going to last the distance in the building industry.

“I did my first year of carpentry, I was just too small for the job,” he says. “I enjoyed the work, but as part of being an apprentice you really have to labour and I couldn’t do the jobs the other guys could do.”

Friends urged Rodd, now 25, to consider becoming a jockey, even though he had never touched a horse at that point.

His mother organised a meeting with a Central Coast trainer at his Avoca stables.

“I liked it as soon as I got there,” Rodd says. “I was just leading the horses and feeding them. It was a whole new world to me.”

Soon after, Rodd travelled to Sydney’s Rosehill Gardens racecourse to meet Racing NSW national training manager Maurice Logue to learn more about the industry.

“I went into the jockey’s room and met a few jockeys and went up to the race caller’s box and it was just a real eye opener, not having come from a racing family,” he says.

“I was hooked straight away. I loved the excitement of the races. I loved the competitive side of it and the tactics.”

Becoming an apprentice jockey means plenty of hard work. “It’s not something you can do half-heartedly,” he says. “It’s 24/7 when you are an apprentice. You work hard but the rewards are there.”

For Rodd, who moved to the Gold Coast to secure to more rides, the rewards came thick and fast. Before he finished his apprenticeship he had won his first Group One race.

“As an apprentice I was able to travel to New Zealand, Dubai and Hong Kong to ride and that was an unbelievable experience,” he says.

During the Spring Racing Carnival Rodd only rides two races a week.
“In between races I’m usually doing a lot of form, which is studying, not just the horse that I’m riding, but the horses that I’ll be up against,” he says.

The carnival is one of the busiest periods of the year, he says. “The phone doesn’t stop ringing,” he says. “So I like to turn the phone off and go for a walk. I love surfing but it’s a bit hard down here.”

The minimum weight for a jockey is 53kg and keeping the weight down is one of the most difficult parts of the job, he says.

“At this time of the year I try to keep around 54kg. That’s my ideal weight, but I do drift up to around 56kg, but that is a lifestyle choice,” Rodd says.

“I could probably ride a little lighter than I do, but then I would not be able to go out with my friends, or go out to dinner with my girlfriend.”

Having a small frame is just one essential quality for being a good jockey, he says.

“You have to be persistent and patient and keep working,” he says.

LOVE YOUR WORK
How did you get into your job?
“I spoke to a couple of people who had horses and they pressured me while I was still a carpenter to become a jockey.”

Upside?
“Being a part of a horse’s preparation and its training to become a racehorse. When it races and you ride and win on it, that’s the most satisfying thing.”

Downside?
“You don’t like to say it, but it is quite dangerous and there are injuries.”