By Craig Kerry
Jockey Ben Osmond is happy juggling Sydney racing with life at home in the Hunter, so much so he has gained a one-year extension to his apprenticeship under top Newcastle trainer Kris Lees.
Osmond is keen to make the most of his two-kilogram claim in town, especially through the winter, and that plan has led to the chance at a first stakes win on Saturday with Glory Daze.
Ben Osmond takes Glory Daze to victory down the outside of Bear On The Loose last Saturday at Randwick.Credit: Getty Images
The Ciaron Maher-trained Glory Daze broke a 16-month drought last Saturday when Osmond took him to a heavy track win at Randwick, and the stable looks likely to back him up in the listed Lord Mayors Cup (2000m) at Rosehill.
Osmond, who turns 26 next week, was pleased with the opportunity and the draw in two. Glory Daze was a $5.50 Sportsbet chance in a wide-open feature.
“He’s pulled up well if they are going to back him up, and if the track is anything like last week, I’m sure he’ll run well,” Osmond said.
“It was his first time on a heavy [track], but he was a really fit horse, and he got through it pretty comfortably, so hopefully the track doesn’t dry out too much.
“I’ll probably ride him similar. He’s a really big horse and doesn’t quicken a lot, so you probably want to be building his revs before everyone else and get out at the right time.”
Glory Daze took Osmond to 17 city winners for the season, now 11 behind Sydney apprentices’ premiership leader Braith Nock.
Like Scone-based Nock, Osmond enjoys the country life but is still keen to compete in the city.
Osmond regularly does track work at Newcastle but travels once a week to ride for premier Sydney trainer Chris Waller.
“It’s good, kind of changing things up,” he said.
Ben OsmondCredit: Getty Images
“Sometimes it gets a bit boring doing the same thing every day. A different environment is good.
“I’m getting a lot more rides now that all the other guys have gone to Brisbane, but I’m not really worried about the premiership. I’m just going about each day as a new day.
“Riding was kind of a late career choice, so anything I can get is a bonus really.
“I had a month to go in my apprenticeship, but then I had an extension. I’ve still got a claim, so I may as well keep doing it.
“I’m happy in Newcastle. It’s pretty central and I don’t know if I like the city life.”
Osmond’s connection with the Waller camp has led to another promising chance on Saturday in race five with last-start winner Summer Flame, although the filly could instead race in the last, where it was an emergency with Rory Hutchings to ride.
Summer Flame was a long-shot winner of the listed Denise’s Joy Stakes at Scone on May 17 with Jeff Penza aboard and was $9.50 in the fifth.
“I’m not sure which race it goes to, but going from a listed to a benchmark race, it’s got to be in with some sort of chance,” Osmond said.
He believed Nathan Doyle-trained Formal would be his best chance on Saturday, before the combination raced, and won, instead on Thursday at Gosford.
Osmond’s best hope now looks Kind Words ($7), for Lees, in the ninth. Kind Words flashed home down the inside to finish third in a three-way photo-finish at Scone two weeks ago.
“Arguably, we could have won,” he said.
“I had to change direction and momentum a couple of times and she was still good, so with the extra 100 metres she will only benefit from that.”
Archibalds seeking better results from French imports
Rob and Annabel Archibald hope they have found the key to imports Don Diego De Vega and Shahzad when the stable looks to go one better in the Lord Mayors Cup at Rosehill on Saturday.
Trainers Annabel and Rob Archibald.Credit: Getty Images
Second behind Eliyass last year with Hopeful, the Archibalds have five runners in the listed 2000m race, with Don Diego De Vega ($8.50) and Shahzad ($12) leading the charge.
Don Diego De Vega ran second, then first on wet ground in Sydney in his first Australian preparation after arriving from France. The five-year-old was spelled, then failed to fire in two runs through last summer and was sent for a let-up.
After two trials, the Archibalds hope Don Diego De Vega will rediscover his best form on softer tracks.
“He’s probably got the most x-factor of all our runners,” Rob said.
“He didn’t really come up last prep, whether it was the ground or not, we don’t really know, but his two trials suggest he’s much more comfortable with a bit of cut in the ground, which he wasn’t getting.
“He’s obviously first up, on a short back up after trialling on Monday at Warwick Farm, so you’d expect there’ll be plenty of improvement from the first-up run, but we feel like it’s a nice starting point for him and whatever he does, he’s only going to improve on.
“He’s a quirky horse, but he’s got a stack of ability, so we were a little bit frustrated with him last prep that we didn’t get a bit more out of him, but we just put that down to the ground. And sometimes the Europeans just take that little bit of time to find their feet.
“So there’s no excuse from our point of view. He’s going into Saturday in good order.”
Don Diego De Vega winning at Randwick in 2024.Credit: Getty Images
Shahzad, another French import, was disappointing in his first Australian preparation, consisting of three unplaced runs, but he broke through second-up on the Gold Coast last start over 2200m on heavy going.
“He obviously loved the conditions up at the Gold Coast, and it was nice to see him find a little bit of form,” he said.
“We brought him back down with a view to the mile and a half race in two weeks, so he’s probably looking for that little bit further now, but this run will just give a good solid run.
“It’s slightly out of the handicap, but we feel like he’s our horse on the up, and we’re really happy with him. He took a long time to adjust physically. He just wasn’t coping early on, so we gave him a three-month break and started again, and this time in, he’s been fantastic.”
Mormona ($151), Double Cherry ($20) and Sir Chartwell ($34) are the team’s other runners.
