Racing: Wiremu Pinn an instant hit after winning treble at Sandown

Wiremu Pinn claimed three wins. Photo / Supplied

Some simple addition already has Kiwi apprentice jockey Wiremu Pinn thinking about how he can extend his stay in Victoria after a breakthrough Saturday.

Pinn rode a treble at Sandown and was also runner-up three times to win the jockeys’ challenge, no small feat at a Victorian metro meeting on a Saturday just a few weeks after arriving in town.

Pinn has become an instant hit with trainers, who are making full use of his 3kg claim, which will reduce after his next win.

The 24-year-old has been granted a licence to ride in Victoria for only three months, with his apprenticeship “on loan” to trainer Michael Kent, but says if he continues getting the level of support he is now, he will be applying to stay longer.

“I worked out what I made on Saturday and it was around $15,000, which would be what I’d get for winning the Auckland Cup,” says Pinn.

“The money is unreal, but it’s not just about that, I’m really enjoying trying to improve.

“The other jockeys have been great. Riding against guys like Damien Oliver and Blake Shinn can only make you better, and after each race, I ask the guys what I could be doing better.

“To win three on a Saturday was pretty buzzy, but I’ve got to keep getting better, and if I keep getting this level of support, I’d love to stay longer.”

Pinn says he is lucky to have clicked with his new Victorian manager Phillip Roost, and the small reduction in his claim after his next win will be more than offset by the enormous profile boost he received on Saturday, so he should be in for a busy winter.

Pinn’s partner Tayla Mitchell was at Sandown to support him on Saturday but returns home from Australia today with a six-win lead in the New Zealand apprentice jockeys’ premiership with seven weeks of the season to go.

● Kiwi expat jockey James McDonald, rated the best in the world rankings, leaves this week for England with earlier than usual commitments for next week’s Royal Ascot meeting.

McDonald will partner Coolangatta and Artorius in the two biggest sprints at Ascot, and both could gallop at a special trackwork session at the famous track on Wednesday.

“I’m going earlier so I can ride them both in work and that will also mean I have a bit more time to settle in,” McDonald told the Herald.

He will ride Coolangatta in the King’s Stand on the first day of the Royal meeting (June 20), the race he won last season on Nature Strip.

Artorius contests the Platinum Jubilee on the last day of the meeting (June 24), the same race he finished third equal in last year.