By Mike Dillon
Grant Cooksley, one of Australia's leading jockeys, is to return to New Zealand to live in August.
Cooksley, who has won more than 30 group one races since he moved to Sydney eight years ago, always maintained he would come back to New Zealand to live.
Everyone assumed, probably even Cooksley himself, his return would be when he retired from race riding, not while he was still competing at the top level in one of the world's toughest racing arenas.
The reason, he said from Sydney yesterday, is his children. Son Aaron came across from Sydney last week to be a boarder at Auckland's King's College.
"The kids like living in Auckland and I can base myself back in New Zealand, ride at the carnivals there are and do stints in Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore."
Cooksley leaves on Wednesday week for his first Hong Kong-based contract which will see him competing there for four months as a Jockey Club-retained rider.
The Hong Kong racing season ends in June and Cooksley expects to be back in New Zealand by August, or at the latest September, after a look at what opportunities are available in nearby Macau.
"How often I go to ride in Hong Kong and Macau will depend on how well the contract goes this time," said Cooksley.
Cooksley and wife Lorraine will almost certainly sell their holding at Dural on the outskirts of Sydney.
Cooksley's last major Australian raceday will be in Melbourne tomorrow week where, perhaps appropriately, his two confirmed mounts are New Zealand gallopers Danske and Pace Invader.
New Zealand jockeys' ranks get a further boost tomorrow when Michael Coleman resumes riding at Te Rapa after a year in Singapore.
Horse Racing: Cooksley returning to NZ for sake of family
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