Racing: Collett joins fellow females in history-making ride

New Zealand apprentice Samantha Collett is working hard to keep her nerves in check as she prepares for a history-making ride in Saturday's Doncaster Mile.

The 19-year-old will ride Sir Slick in the Randwick feature, a month after piloting him in her first ride in a group one race.

Collett and compatriot Samantha Spratt (King Mufhasa) and Kathy O'Hara (Gallant Tess) will make history - it's the first time three women jockeys have contested an Australian group one race.

"To get this opportunity to ride against the best jockeys in the world is just a great experience," Collett said.

"It's all a bit overwhelming but I'm going to try to treat it like any other race and ride Sir Slick how he prefers to be ridden."

Collett, daughter of top riders Jim Collett and Trudy Thornton, booked her ticket to Sydney after a random phone call from Sir Slick's Te Aroha owner-trainer, Graeme Nicholson.

"I had ridden in a few races for Mr Nicholson but he rang me out of the blue asking if I could ride Sir Slick," she said.

"They told me they thought Sir Slick was more a girl's horse and I might suit him."

It's been three rides for three seconds to date: behind MacO'Reilly in the New Zealand Stakes at Ellerslie; behind My Astron in the Japan/NZ Trophy at Tauranga; then behind MacO'Reilly again in the Awapuni Gold Cup on March 28.

Collett pointed out she'd been beaten less than a length in all three defeats.

While it's solid form, it hasn't stopped Sir Slick being installed a $151 Doncaster outsider with Australia's TAB Sportsbet.

The much-travelled gelding raced awfully in Victoria late last year before returning home to record a memorable group one Thorndon Mile win at Trentham in January. Saturday will be the six-time group one winner's 94th career start.

Barrier 15 in a 19-horse field will make it tougher for Collett, while the prospect of a dead-to-slow track on Saturday also wasn't ideal.

"He's the sort of horse that tries 110 per cent every time in his races. He is better on top of the ground so I'm hoping the weather stays fine and the track improves."

Other New Zealand interest at Randwick is in the A$500,000 ($621,000) group one AJC Oaks where Daffodil has her first Australian start.

She drew barrier 13 in the 18-horse field and four emergencies yesterday.

Another Kiwi, the Moira Murdoch-trained My My Maree (rider Sam Spratt), is third on the ballot after running 12th in the Adrian Knox Stakes (2000m) at Randwick last Saturday.

- NZPA