‘He seems to get inside their minds’: The uncanny ability that sets racing’s ‘Dr Dolittle’ apart

Next time you are at the track, maybe even on Saturday at Rosehill, do yourself a favour and watch what jockey Joao Moreira does on the back of his horse before a race.

Moreira can be seen whispering inside the horse’s ear, maybe giving it a rub down the neck, or even sprinting off the mark in an attempt to connect with the 500-kilogram animal under him.

Joao Moreira works Golden Eagle favourite Ascoli Piceno at Canterbury.Credit: Jessica Hromas

The 41-year-old Brazilian, who does the majority of his riding in Japan, is in town for the $10 million Golden Eagle, in which he rides favourite and Japanese champion Ascoli Piceno.

Moreira has for a long time been regarded as one of the world’s best jockeys – easily in the same class as Australia’s best, James McDonald, Hong Kong-based Australian Zac Purton, and England’s Ryan Moore.

But it is what he does in terms of connecting with the horse on a pyschological level that sets him apart from the field. Maybe we could call him racing’s own “Dr Dolittle”.

Purton has seen up close how a horse will instantly connect with Moreira on an almost spiritual level as it heads to the gates before a big race.

Ascoli Piceno and Joao Moreira knuckle down at Canterbury on Wednesday morning.Credit: Kate Geraghty/SMH

“I know it sounds weird to say that, but Joao seems to know how to get inside their minds, and get the horse into the frame of mind he wants them to be in,” Purton said.

“It’s like he can actually get inside their head and not only control them physically but also mentally. I’ve seen him say in the past he was never a natural and had to work hard to get where he is. But from what I’ve seen, he’s one of the most naturally talented jockeys I’ve ever seen.

“I used to watch him go to the gates on a horse, and he would do so much with them. He’d spin them around, pull them up, get them to jump off the mark, rev them up, calm them down, complete ‘figure eights’. I haven’t seen anyone else go to the lengths he does to get inside their minds and control them from on top.”

Moreira is a multi-millionaire who does not need to keep riding for the money. He and Purton have been battling labrum tears in their hip sockets that have required painkilling injections and lots of gritting teeth before race meetings.

Joao Moreira explains his love for horses earlier this week.Credit: Kate Geraghty

After hopping off the back of Ascoli Piceno at trackwork at Canterbury this week, Moreira said there was one simple reason he continued to race.

“It’s the horses, I love them,” he said. “They are incredible animals that teach you lessons every day. It’s so nice when you can interact with them; you start to understand each one individually.

“Sometimes when things don’t go as you like, you change things around, and they’ll respond with a different behaviour or an improved performance. Those things are fascinating to me.

“Every horse has its own personality. Like humans, you get along with some straight away, then there are others you hate and want to run away from. It’s no different with horses.”

Moreira spent Tuesday driving to the Hunter Valley to visit a champion horse he used to ride in Hong Kong, Able Friend. He still rates Able Friend “the easiest horse I’ve ever ridden”, which “would run strong sectionals the last part of the race without me having to do much on him”.

Moreira learned to ride horses in Brazil before conquering Singapore and going on to dominate the cut-throat Hong Kong racing scene.

He still remembers the first time he sat on the back of a horse like it was yesterday.

“I was three years old. We went to visit where my mum was from,” Moreira said. “I was born in Curitiba, and we went to Cianorte, which was far off.

“My mum [Helena] was going back to see her dad for the first time in 14 years. She had left home after getting married and not spoken to him. My grandpa [Pedro] didn’t even know I existed.

“I saw my grandpa just once in my life, which was then, but I remember him like I’m looking at you right now. He was on a farm. I have a great memory. I remember what happened that week, I remember people’s faces, behaviours, me getting beaten by the other kids around the farm. It was the first time I had tasted an orange in my life.

“It was also the first time I sat on a horse. I remember the feeling of being with someone on a horse’s back. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I want to do this again’.”

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