Darryl Bradley in an post-race television interview.
Darryl Bradley in an post-race television interview.
Evergreen Foxton jockey Darryl Bradley brought up a major milestone at the Feilding Jockey Club meeting at Awapuni at the weekend.
His masterly ride aboard Hastings gelding Mohaka to win the $50,000 Ricoh Feilding Gold Cup (2100m) was the 100th group or listed race winner in a career that began in the early 1980s.
It was a daring ride as Bradley on Mohaka found himself at the front of the field, against pre-race plans. But it proved the winning of the race.
"I had no option. We jumped so quick and she felt so strong there was no point in dragging her back. I had to use my initiative and had to make the horse feel relaxed and happy in the running," he said.
"You have to ride on instinct sometimes and use your initiative and if they're happy, it helps them breathe and finish the race off.
"She was travelling really comfortable and at the half-mile I thought 'jeez this is good'. I still had plenty of horse underneath me."
While there had been some stellar career highlights for Bradley, including a Group One Doomben Cup on Sapio, the weekend win on Mohaka was special as it had been three years since he had last won a black-type race.
Darryl Bradley with the Feilding Gold Cup.
"I've been wanting to get that out of my system for a long time," he said.
Despite finding it harder to land the plum rides in recent times, the 54-year-old former champion jockey felt said he was riding as well as he ever had with limited opportunities.
Records show Bradley was one of New Zealand's most successful jockeys and his eighth-placing on the all-time list for most wins in New Zealand put him in elite company.
Only David Walsh (2451), Chris Johnson (2447), Lance O'Sullivan (2355), Noel Harris (2167), WD Skelton (2156), Michael Coleman (2131) and David Peake (2093) had ridden more winners than Bradley.
He had now ridden 1811 career winners in New Zealand that had earnt more than $23 million in stakemoney.
His best season was in 1998-99 where he won the NZ jockeys premiership with a career-best 133 wins, also breaking the 100-win barrier in the 2003-04 season with 106 wins, while in 1999-00 he finished on 99 wins.
He had also ridden 17 winners in Malaysia and three in Maresias.
"I'm rapt with what I have achieved over the years. I've never been a superstar," he said.
Bradley said he was fortunate to have been brought up in an era where he got to learn from some of the best.
"There were great riders and I learnt so much from them ... David Walsh ... Noel Harris ... Lance O'Sullivan."
"I learnt so much from David Walsh. Noel Harris was so uniquely balanced and his timing was incredible ... Lance O'Sullivan could put a horse in a race and cuddle them up and hold them together ... they were very astute riders."
Despite his record, Bradley said he was finding it hard to get regular rides. Where he was once riding as many as 600 races a season, he was now averaging between 100-150.
But every race win was special, now just as ever, he said.
"It's the satisfaction you get from winning and making the connections happy. You don't see unhappy winners," he said.
Although he had landed a job as track manager at Foxton racecourse, Bradley said he had no plans to hang up his silks just yet.
"Far from it. While I know I am riding well myself and I'm giving the horse every opportunity I will keep riding. When that starts to fade I'll know it's time," he said.
Bradley has always had a cult following among punters and his supporters no doubt cashed in on his win on Mohaka.
