Apprentice jockey Bailey Wheeler had a day he’s rather forget at Doomben last Saturday

Trainer Rob Heathcote says he has the utmost faith in talented jockey Bailey Wheeler but urged the inconsistent teenager to lift his game.

Apprentice jockey Bailey Wheeler. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography.

Trainer Rob Heathcote says he has the utmost faith in talented jockey Bailey Wheeler but urged the inconsistent teenager to lift his game.

Heathcote was watching the QTIS Jewel Prelude 3YO at Doomben on Saturday from Japan, where he was holidaying on a ski trip.

And it made for horror viewing as his hot favourite Cosmo Centaurus, with Wheeler on board, was forced to go five-wide without cover and ultimately bombed out of the race won by Dream Smart, one of four winners on Saturday for Cejay Graham.

💭✅ Dream Smart wins the 3YO QTIS Jewel Prelude at Doomben and it's a double to @CejayGraham1!@BrisRacingClubpic.twitter.com/ePrRJP2emW

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) February 22, 2025

To make matters worse, Heathcote’s well-fancied Carbonara reared at the start of the QTIS Prelude for fillies, missed the kick and finished last.

The only positive note on a disappointing day for Heathcote was two-year-old Pretty Dubious, ridden by Vlad Duric, saluting in the QTIS Jewel Prelude (colts and geldings) to book his spot in Saturday week’s rich Jewel Day on the Gold Coast.

The trainer joked that the prizemoney would help pay the medical bills for his wife Vicky, who badly twisted her knee during her very first run on the ski trip in Japan.

Apprentice Wheeler rode five of Heathcote’s runners on Saturday but the 19-year-old had a day he would rather bury deep in the back of his mind.

“We have faith in his ability as a jockey but he had one of those forgettable days, he lacked focus,” the trainer told Racenet before boarding a flight home from Sapporo, Japan via Taiwan.

“He was very depressed and down (on Saturday night).

“I spoke to him at length and said ‘you’ve got to pick up your game, son. If you want to play with the big boys you’ve got to behave like one’.”

In March last year, Wheeler split with trainer Annabel Neasham following a string of indiscretions, admitting his partying was out of control.

Neasham had twice suspended Wheeler from race riding before she sacked him.

In July last year, Wheeler was slapped with a four-week ban after he was found to have lied to stewards over a positive result to a breathalyser test before he rode at the Ipswich Cup.

Heathcote revealed he only ran Cosmo Centaurus last Saturday from a wide barrier “because there was no suitable race coming up in the next three weeks in town”.

“Bailey was out in no-man’s land, five-wide the whole way, so we’ll put a forgive through it,” he said.

“We’re sending the horse to the paddock.

“I’ve certainly not lost faith in the horse’s ability.”

Originally published as Apprentice jockey Bailey Wheeler had a day he’s rather forget at Doomben last Saturday