Racing: Jumps star Rathbone glides into new season with top win

Top jumps jockey Joanne Rathbone has started the new season where she finished the old.

Rathbone won this season's first important jumps race when combining with Gliding to win the $35,000 Sydenham Hurdles (3200m) at Riccarton on Saturday.

She is now looking to take it a step further with the same horse in the $60,000 Grand National Hurdles (4200m) at the same venue on Wednesday.

Rathbone ended up sharing the honours with Jonathan Riddell and Richard Enyon in a three-way tie in the jumps jockeys' premiership for the season which ended on July 31.

All three riders had 11 jumps wins for the season, but Rathbone had the highlight of winning New Zealand's richest jumps race, the $100,000 Great Northern Steeplechase, on Just The Man last September.

Another big win came aboard No Hero in the $50,000 Great Western Steeplechase at Riverton this year.

Rathbone was previously based in Palmerston North but a year ago shifted to Wanganui to join Kevin Myers, the trainer of Gliding.

She said the experience had been invaluable.

"I think it's been helping my riding," Rathbone said after Gliding's win.

"I think I have improved a lot since I've been there."

Rathbone, 25, has been riding for about five years. She got into jumps riding when at Massey University in Palmerston North and linking up with Palmerston North trainer Mark Oulagahan.

She left Massey after less than a year as jumps riding took on a bigger attraction.

"I just missed out on a vets' course at Massey and ended up doing a Bachelor of Science course but I wasn't really into that," Rathbone said.

Gliding soared into Grand National contention with Saturday's win.

He had been at a price of $9 for the Grand National last Friday but yesterday was the second favourite at $3.75.

Gliding has raced only three times as a hurdler and Saturday was his first win.

He had finished second and fourth in maiden and intermediate grade hurdle races respectively at his two previous starts.

Gliding showed himself a top winter galloper on the flat when winning the $100,000 Rotorua Cup (2200m) on May 13.

That was his third win in succession and overall he has now won seven times on the flat.

The Lord Ballina six-year-old gelding is owned by Jim Wallace, whose son, Jim jnr, used to train the horse at Masterton.

They sent Gliding to Myers with a jumping career in mind.

Gliding settled at the back of the field but had improved to be in behind the leading group with 600m to run.

He loomed between runners inside the final 400m and came clear to score by 2 1/2 lengths.

Second was the Oulaghan-trained Yourtheman, who fought well after leading early then trailing Just A Swagger, who took up the running with about a round (2400m) to go.

Three-quarters of a length away in third was the favourite Van Winkle, who mainly raced outside the leader. Van Winkle was in front with about 600m to run and was not too far away from the winner at the finish.

There was a gap of 10 lengths to fourth-placed Dan Moran while Just A Swagger, winner of the last two Grand National Hurdles, weakened to fifth.

- NZPA