Wilson scores first win in the saddle as she eyes professional ranks

The amateur jockey series has been a great pathway for several of the country’s top apprentice jockeys, including leading apprentice Amber Riddell, and Hannah Wilson is hoping she can be another success story as she looks to make that transition.

The 23-year-old hoop has made a pleasing start to her riding career as an amateur, placing in her first race at Wanganui in May before breaking through for her first win aboard the Kevin Myers-trained Four Square Pete (NZ) (Zed) in the Happy Retirement Leaderboard (2200m) at Trentham on Thursday.

Four Square Pete settled midfield and found himself towards the rear of the pack with 800m to go, where Wilson decided to make her move and sent the son of Zed four wide around the pack.

Frontrunner Ziggy Khan had established a significant buffer on her rivals, but Four Square Pete loomed ominously at the turn and out on the better part of the track he began to make gradual inroads into her lead, drawing level with 200m to go, and under a hands and heels ride he drew out to score by three lengths at the finish.

Wilson was duly rapt to salute the judge for the first time.

“It was super exciting, it is something I have looked forward to, and it was great to get it,” Wilson said.

“I didn’t know how the horse was going to go yesterday but I just rode him with confidence and gave him the best run I could, and it was a really good result.

“Because he was pulling almost the whole way, I thought surely he would run out of energy at the end, but just coming out of that bend heading into the straight he felt like he could go on forever.”

Wilson has had a lifelong passion for horses, and she has made a natural progression from eventing to riding track work, and now she is intent on a career in the racing industry.

“I have been riding since I was about four years old,” she said. “My parents put me on a horse and they couldn’t get me off it.

“I went on to showjumping and eventing and when I was 16 I got a job at the track here at Awapuni and started off as ground staff with Mike Breslin before I started riding track work.”

Wilson said she caught the racing bug as soon as she hopped on a racehorse, and after a couple of years seeing the world, she is now intent on becoming a professional jockey.

“I didn’t realise how much I would love it and I kept at it and I have now decided I want to go for my apprenticeship,” Wilson said.

“As soon as I sat on a racehorse I thought ‘how cool would this be to do as a job’. I did quite a bit of travelling in-between, but now I have settled a bit more and I am ready to really get into it.”

Wilson currently rides work for several Awapuni trainers, and she said the amateur jockey series, which is sponsored by Race Images, gives riders a strong grounding before taking the leap into an apprenticeship.

It is a well-trodden path, with a couple of the country’s top apprentices in Amber Riddell and Hayley Hassman having also begun their careers in the amateur ranks.

“It is great to get that raceday experience before you start as a proper apprentice, and without having the stress of multiple rides in a day, it is great,” Wilson said.

Wilson is hopeful of being selected in the next intake of apprentices, but in the meantime she is enjoying competing as an amateur and she is already eyeballing the amateur series title, with her win now placing her in third place on 15 points behind Alexandra Reed (20 points) and Monique Dey (19 points).

“The next intake they do for apprentices is in March and hopefully I can make it into that intake,” Wilson said. “I have been working on getting a lot of trial rides and making sure I am doing all the right things.

“I just want to keep going with all the raceday amateur rides that they have got and hopefully pick up some nice horses. The ultimate goal would be to win the series, I think that would be pretty cool.”