Naval Officer hits the line generously to win Saturday's BM58 at Parkes defeating Geostorm, Tillman and Toulon Factor (inside) - courtesy Janian McMillan Racing Photography.

Just happened to catch the Sky Racing coverage of the opening race at Parkes on Saturday. It was a 1600m BM58 on a big roomy bush track that lends itself to a patient ride. I noticed Adrian Layt was on a well fancied commodity called Naval Officer for Dubbo trainer Jim McMillan, and I remember thinking if this horse needed a cushy run he had the right jockey on board.

Adrian confirmed on Sunday morning that McMillan had asked him to do absolutely nothing to the hometurn before pressing the button - exactly the way the veteran jockey loves to ride ‘em. Naval Officer went straight back from a wide draw to be seventh of nine runners at the halfway mark, eight lengths from the leaders. The Merchant Navy gelding dived onto the bridle at the 600m and was travelling like a winner as he followed a line of five leaders into the straight.

The long striding five year old ducked inside the widest runner on straightening and had the leaders covered in a few strides. He won going away from stablemates Geostorm and Tillman to record his fourth win since joining the McMillan stable just over a year ago. Naval Officer had been unplaced in three Victorian runs before heading north, one for the Moody/Coleman partnership and two for Alex Rae.

Former Victorian Naval Officer has all four feet off the ground and his ears pricked as he scores an emphatic win at Parkes - courtesy Janian McMillan Racing Photography.

Adrian had another five unplaced rides at the Parkes meeting, but Naval Officer’s win covered expenses incurred in making such a long trip. Mind you huge mileage has been part of Adrian Layt’s agenda for much of his long career. You only need to look at the last couple of weeks to get a handle on the kind of workload this jockey deals with. On Friday he was at Moruya for three unplaced rides, while last Sunday his three rides at Cowra yielded two placings including a second in the Cowra Cup on Mathrin for Michael Travers. The previous day he’d had a single ride at Gosford but would have had more had the meeting not been called off after just two races. Many were surprised (they shouldn’t have been) when he turned up at Coffs Harbour over the Xmas break for a couple of rides. One of them, the Noel Mayfield-Smith trained Ausbred Yahoo finished a close second.

If there’s a harder working jockey anywhere in Australia than Adrian Layt he or she has my utmost admiration. To begin with the man lives near Kembla Grange racecourse but chooses to ride work twice a week at places like Warwick Farm and Goulburn for trainers who provide ongoing support. He’s at The Farm on Tuesday mornings for trainers Clarrie Conners, Graham Brown, Gary Nickson and Bruce Cross.

The widely travelled Adrian Layt returns to scale on Naval Officer at Parkes 24/01/2026 - courtesy Janian McMillan Racing Photography.

On Thursdays he undertakes a ninety minute drive to Goulburn for Patrick Murphy, Lucy Longmire and Wayne Hudd. As the iconic entertainer Al Jolson once famously said, “you ain’t heard nothing yet.” In an era when many busy jockeys find it impossible to operate without a manager, this man does his own chasing of rides. “I start sending text messages to trainers immediately after the close of nominations,” said Adrian. “They know if I commit to a ride, I’ll be there rain, hail or shine. There’s no easy way for the battling jockey. The race meetings are there seven days a week if you’re prepared to put in. You’ve got to keep fit and stay focused. My ace card is the fact that I can ride comfortably at 53kgs. Instead of sitting in a sweat box I can be on the road travelling to race meetings looking after those who look after me.”

Not too long ago the indefatigable Mr. Layt made the move to Townsville in the best health interests of young son Liam, destined to stay in the northern city for over two years. Consider the downside of such a move. Here is a NSW jockey with not a single contact in northern Queensland and a family to support. Relishing the challenge as he always has, the experienced horseman turned up unannounced at Cluden Park trackwork and offered his services to local trainers. It didn’t take those trainers long to realise this Sydney jock had the talent to match his work ethic. Winners quickly flowed and before long Layt had established a clientele from Cairns to Rockhampton, and in several other inland racing regions.

One of Adrian’s “away” sojourns resulted in an accident that would sideline him for over six months. In January of last year he was involved in a barrier mishap at Bowen that left him with a broken shoulder - a complicated, untimely injury destined to keep him out of the saddle for more than six months. In fact, he’d moved back to NSW and relocated to Kembla before he was cleared by specialists to resume riding last July. Adrian reports that his son Liam is dealing wonderfully well with the complexities of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. “He’s showing no signs of slowing down at this stage,” said the jockey. “I’m getting a lot of pleasure out of his growing interest in racing. He’s become a real student of the game with a keen interest in the breeding side. He can rattle off the names of the sires and dams of many horses racing at the moment. He amazes me.”

Adrian unsaddling a winner in the famous Bart Cummings colours at Kembla 2015 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

The remarkable Adrian Layt is the second eldest of a family of four born to Neville and Barbara Layt, and was destined to become a jockey from a very early age. His late father had been a busy and very successful rider in the south east racing region for many years, and was still turning out the winners as a trainer right up to his passing at age 76 in 2021. Neville enjoyed multiple successes with 2008 Black Opal Stakes winner Sarthemare and talented stakes winner Kenquest, but his time in the sun came via one glorious eighteen month period with the flying chestnut filly Karuta Queen. Layt Snr won six races with the daughter of Not A Single Doubt including the 2011 Magic Millions 2YO Classic by a big space, the listed Heritage Stakes at Rosehill and the Gr 3 Red Anchor Stakes at Moonee Valley. A young Tommy Berry was her regular pilot at the time.

Adrian was initially apprenticed to his dad but opted for a transfer when an opportunity came up with champion Randwick trainer Les Bridge. “Les and I had a great trot together and became very firm friends,” says Adrian. “He taught me so much about the training business and actually floated the idea of forming a training partnership with me around the time he won the Everest with Classique Legend. We received my son’s shock diagnosis not long after, and everything changed as a result. Les himself is currently getting over a pretty serious health setback and he’s in my thoughts all the time.”

Adrian’s greatest fan, mother Barbara says her son’s first race ride was on a tiny mare called Koryo Kate at Canberra as far back as 1990. She says his first win came on a 3YO colt called Artistic Gold trained by his dad in a Cl 1 at Goulburn five months later. Perhaps the accolade closest to Adrian’s heart during his apprenticeship in the early 1990’s was his induction as “Dux of the AJC Apprentice’s School.” This coveted award had been keenly sought by junior riders since 1933 and had gone the way of subsequent achievers like Ray Selkrig and Hilton Cope. Adrian was deeply touched to join an elite list. The presentation of a sparkling new saddle put the icing on the cake.

Adrian wins on War Weapon for Ryan and Alexiou at Kembla 2020 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

Natural curiosity and a love of travel saw Adrian take himself off to England in 2010. It was a working holiday that lasted for ten full months. His few rides were largely at long odds, and he failed to land a winner, but he savoured every minute of the experience. The jockey also availed himself of the opportunity to visit mainland China on a couple of occasions, principally to help provide tuition for budding Chinese jockeys.

The popular Racing And Sports statistics credit Adrian Layt with 662 career winners and 1752 placings. Hardly a week goes by when he doesn’t field a question about his intentions for the immediate future. “I know I’m in the twilight of my career, but retirement is not in my thoughts at the moment,” says the veteran. “I’m as fit as I’ve ever been and my weight is very stable. Most importantly I’m enjoying my job more than ever. There’s nothing I enjoy more than riding racehorses. Why in the world would I want to stop.”

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