When Lashes romped home in Saturday’s fillies and mares BM 78 at Rosehill Gardens, Jason Collett brought up his tenth win in seventeen days.
The eminently talented Kiwi horseman is almost halfway through his eighth full season in Sydney and is currently sitting in ninth spot on the NSW Jockey’s ladder. In those seven and a half seasons Collett has amassed 657 NSW wins plus 2 dead heats. Those two dead heats, along with 357 wins came on metropolitan tracks.
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - It's only a maiden at Wyong, but it showcases the Collett style. Winner is Visibly 11/04/2019.
Jason’s not certain of his career winning tally but says he’s tantalisingly close to the magical 1000 milestone. “I owe everything to a scholarship I won at home in the 2010/2011 season”, says the man who was born to be a jockey. “Part of my reward for winning a NZ apprentice’s premiership was a sponsored trip to Australia and a three month stint with Chris Waller whose star was quickly rising in Sydney”.
Young Collett rode twenty four city winners during his short stay, with another four on the provincial circuit. The winners continued to flow when he returned to NZ, but the prospect of a longer Sydney campaign dominated his thoughts. Fate intervened before he could put a plan in place.
He was riding in a maiden race at Tauranga in the Bay Of Plenty region, when his mount clipped the heels of the horse in front approaching the hometurn. “My horse fell heavily, but only half as heavily as I did”, recalled Jason with a wince. “I sustained a broken collarbone, heavy concussion and a bleed to the brain. I had a week in hospital, another week in rehabilitation and then a recovery period of close to four months “.
On gaining his medical clearance the young jockey was quickly on his way to Sydney and a reconnection with the Waller stable.
Around two years after his return, the Kiwi jockey got to ride a certain bay filly making her debut in a late season two year old race at Warwick Farm over 1100 metres. “Winx won that race, but I’ve got to say there was nothing to suggest she was destined for greatness”, recalls Collett. “She was slow to move, and never really touched the bridle in a pretty fast run race. She did what she continued to do for the rest of her career, picking up at about the 500 metres mark and working into the race. She won nicely but I wasn’t overly excited”.
Three and a half weeks later Winx won again over 1400m at Rosehill and this time was a little more professional. “Nice enough win, but again I couldn’t possibly have predicted what was to come”, says Jason.
Collett got to ride the budding champion three more times for a second in the Tea Rose Stakes and unplaced efforts in the Light Fingers and the Surround Stakes. “She raced well enough, but if anybody had suggested she would go on to win twenty six million dollars, I would have laughed out loud”.
It’s now history that J. Collett never got to ride the iconic mare again, but she left him with bragging rights which will serve him well in the years ahead.
Image courtesy Steve Hart Photographics - One day Jason will tell his grandchildren about this one - the second of his two wins on Winx.
Some nice horses have helped to establish Jason among the main players of Sydney’s powerful riding ranks. He won Provincial Championship Finals on Serene Miss and Sure And Fast, Hawkesbury Cups on Fabrizio and Coup Ay Tee, Starlight Stakes and Nivison Stakes on Egyptian Symbol.
The jockey played a major role in getting Rebel Dane up and going. He was the jockey when the stallion won his first four races straight, culminating in the Group 2 Royal Sovereign Stakes.
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Jason notched a treble at Canterbury 17/01/2020.
He won seven races on Heart Testa for Matthew Smith, who still regularly utilises his services. Jason won a couple of three year old stakes races on Man From Uncle, and metropolitan two year old events on Champagne Cuddles.
He won four races on the brilliant Terravista, including the Gr 3 Southern Cross, and the Group 3 Liverpool City Cup.
Jason hadn’t ridden Invincibella in a race for two years and eight months, when he regained the ride in last year’s Tatt’s Tiara. It was worth the wait.
He got the wonderful mare home by a whisker from the Godolphin duo of Pohutukawa and Savatiano, and Group 1 glory was his for the first time.
He’d had a frustrating run of Group 1 placings in races like the ATC Derby, Golden Rose, Flight Stakes, Sydney Cup and the BMW. It took the tenacious Invincibella to get the monkey off his back.
Jason and his partner Clare Cunningham have become a formidable team on and off the track. Clare is rapidly emerging as a very serious trainer and is the first to give her jockey much of the credit. “He’s a brilliant race rider and a naturally gifted horseman”, says Clare. “I’m so lucky to have him when a difficult horse comes along. He enjoys working my horses and gets as big a kick as I do when one of them wins a race”.
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - A dynamic duo! Jason and Clare.
Jason has great respect for Clare’s training talents. He says she doesn’t leave a stone unturned in her day to day stable management and attention to detail.
The thoroughly experienced Cunningham has twenty five horses in work at Warwick Farm. Pressed to nominate one or two for punters to follow in the immediate future, Jason plumped for Cradle Mountain and Big Parade.
Cradle Mountain has had several niggling issues, which explains his restricted racing career. He’s won six races from only sixteen starts and was a touch disappointing when resuming recently. “He’s a totally different horse when he can lead”, says the jockey. “I strongly suggest punters stick with him when the figures suggest he can find the front”.
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - When Cradle Mountain is on song he's a talented horse. Here's a Rosehill win 03/11/2018.
Lightly raced three year old Big Parade has won two from five and was a gutsy second to No Escape on Saturday. “It was a super run. He wasn’t happy in the going, but never stopped trying”, said Jason.
Few jockeys in the world have a stronger racing background than the twenty eight year old Collett. His father Richard was a successful amateur rider before turning to training, and his mother Judy rode 100 winners before her career was halted by a nasty ankle injury.
His sisters Tasha and Alysha have both ridden Group 1 winners. Following a successful career, Tasha has quit the saddle to devote her time to raising twin boys. Her partner, jockey Andrew Calder has regenerated his career in NZ after a very successful seven year stint in Macau. Alysha has twelve months left on her current contract in Singapore, and is riding regular winners.
Jason’s uncle Jim Collett was one of News Zealand’s best jockeys, while his former wife Trudy Thornton is still riding winners in her mid fifties. The remarkable jockey was in the spotlight last weekend when she won the time honoured Wellington Cup on the tough mare Soleseifei.
Jason’s cousin Samantha, daughter of Jim and Trudy has ridden close to 700 winners including two Group 1’s. She has already won a NZ jockey’s premiership and is high on the leaderboard again this season.
Jason has slowly honed the talents inherited from an extraordinary genetic pool. He ticks the boxes he needs to tick if he’s going to be competitive in the ferocious Sydney arena. Massive prize money levels are all good and well - winning a chunk of it is hard to do.
Collett is an impressive rider. Balanced, stylish, composed, patient and as strong as an ox. The latter is a result of being able to eat three meals a day - small meals admittedly, but three nevertheless. He’s also got a caring partner who just happens to be a very good horse trainer.
Some Kiwis have all the luck.
(Banner image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Jason's 10th winner in 17 days. Lashes wins at Rosehill on 18/01/2020.)