By Mike Dillon
New Zealand's most successful jockey slid quietly in and out of Avondale yesterday. Two rides for one win and a second when beaten by an apprentice allowance.
If premiership honours were on Lance O'Sullivan's mind his demeanour certainly didn't broadcast it.
But after adding a modest $310 to his pretty thick wallet, O'Sullivan said winning the premiership for the 11th time was the only thing he wanted to achieve in a career in which he has won everything but a Melbourne Cup.
It's the only thing which will eliminate the disappointment and agony of 14 months on the sideline with horrific leg injuries.
On one level O'Sullivan doesn't need the premiership. Fame ceased to appeal long ago and thanks to the revenue from two farms, the groceries are always going to be paid for. But at 35 he says he is too young to retire.
And rides were slow when O'Sullivan returned in January after his long absence.
O'Sullivan desperately wants this premiership. Motivation is a powerful force and it showed when he pushed Maccadons Dream through a gap on the home turn to run away and win yesterday in his first ride since a two-week stint riding in Singapore and a week lying on a Fijian beach.
To make the premiership happen, O'Sullivan says the first thing he has to do is not think about it.
"It would drive you mad if you did.
"The first year I went for it I had a crack right from the start, but every other season I waited to see where I was at the end of March and if I was in a position to drive for it, I did.
"One year I came from 27 behind to win it.
"If you went at it from the start you'd go mad, You wouldn't sleep at night.
"I admire Darryl Bradley in this season just gone because he's the first for a while to have a go right from the start and keep going."
O'Sullivan knows a huge part of the premiership is beyond his control.
The crucial springboard will be how successful the season proves for the stable of his brother Paul, who, despite winning more stakemoney than anyone else, overall had a quiet time last season by the standards of Wexford Stables.
"The disappointing feature was that the stable didn't get a huge number of young horses to the races. It was no one's fault, just one of those years when a few niggling things went wrong."
But in every negative there is a positive.
"What that means, of course, is that those horses have been given a bit more time and are waiting in the wings for this season."
With Panorama proving he was a coming star with his Hastings win last week and the one-from-one talented Kasman ready to scale the heights, a flying start is assured.
"It would be a big thrill to see Paul win the premiership and to be part of that."
Horse Racing: Shot at 11th premiership sole goal
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