Racing: Early call for Emperor ride

Ocean Emperor wins the Gartshore Tauranga Stakes on Saturday. Photo / Race Images

A phone call from the National Racing Bureau in the early hours of Saturday morning delivered an unexpected reward for Cambridge jockey Lynsey Satherley.

The hard-working horsewoman was enjoying having a quiet morning when the 6.30am call came through advising fellow jockey Dylan Turner was ill and would have to forgo the mount on the well-fancied Ocean Emperor in the group two Gartshore Tauranga Stakes (1600m).

"The Bureau told me that Gary [Hennessy] was looking for a rider to replace Dylan so I gave him a call and we agreed I would ride the horse later that day," Satherley said.

"I had ridden a little bit for Gary earlier on in my career, so I was delighted he had thought about me.

"We talked about how he wanted the horse ridden and I thought he was a massive chance based on his lead-up form. While I might have been having a little bit of a lie in as I had the morning off, I certainly don't mind getting calls like that one."

The rest, as they say, is history as Satherley produced a copybook ride to guide Ocean Emperor to victory over pacemaker Nicoletta and the late-finishing Darscape Princess in the Group Two Tauranga feature.

"Gary had said that he gets out of the gates well but will drop the bit and take a trail which was how he wanted him ridden," Satherley said.

"He jumped brilliantly but it took him a wee while to settle as they weren't going that hard in front.

"He tugged a bit but once Anna Jones [Woodsman] came around and sat outside Nicoletta he dropped the bit and travelled nicely for me."

Satherley admitted some inside knowledge on the Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained Nicoletta had helped when making her decision on when to make her challenge on Ocean Emperor.

"I ride a lot of trackwork for Murray and Andrew and have been on Nicoletta before," she said.

"She is a lovely mare on the way up and I knew she wouldn't give in without a fight. I just had to get the timing right on my horse so he would have the best shot at her.

"It was a decent struggle but I was always confident we would get there as he is a very good horse with an explosive sprint."

The win continues a good vein of form for Satherley who has ridden eight winners so far this season.

"It was a thrill to get the chance on a nice horse like that in a big race so hopefully it might mean I get a few more rides from it," she said.

- NZ Racing Desk