Queensland’s top rising jockeys ranked 20 to 1
From Cairns to Gold Coast and throughout Central Queensland, the next generation of rising jockeys have been identified. See the full list of stars and have your say!
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The Sunshine State is blessed with a fresh and talented young crop of rising jockeys looking to make their mark on the Queensland racing industry.
As a number of leading hoops still occupy the jockey rooms in South East Queensland, these riders are just some of the best young talents stretched from Gold Coast, Cairns, Birdsville and everywhere in between.
Some riders have already broken into the metropolitan scene while others are knocking on the door or just beginning their promising careers.
But is this list correct?
Tell us in the comments below who we left out and if we ranked some jockeys too high or too low.
All statistics are as of October 31, 2023.
Queensland’s next generation of standout jockeys
Honourable Mentions
After just missing out on our list, well earned honourable mentions go to Stacey Callow, Lilli Barr, Marnu Potgieter, Casey Waddell, Olivia Webb, Melea Castle, Isabella Teh and Brodie Moffatt.
20. Sophie Wilcock
The 27-year-old would be one of Australia’s oldest apprentices but Wilcock made a triumphant return to the saddle in 2022 and has been in good form ever since.
After beginning her career in 2018, Wilcock booted home more than 30 winners before a battle with her weight put her on the sidelines for more than two years.
In August 2022 she returned to the bush circuit for the first time since February of 2020 and was able to finish fifth on the country apprentice leaderboard.
Earlier this year she was selected to represent Queensland at the National Apprentice Race Series and has recorded two wins and two placings from 11 starts this season.
19. Dan McGillivray
The 25-year-old was only able to take on just four race rides since June, 2022 following issues with his weight as well as a hand injury that put him on the sidelines for longer than he initially expected.
Since the start of the 2023-24 season the Gold Coast based apprentice has recorded eight wins and 17 placings at the provincial level.
On his return to race riding in March, 2023, McGillivray rode two winners from three rides.
“It was very pleasing because I have worked hard for it,” McGillivray told Jordan Gerrans.
“When you come back like this, you are hungry and want to ride winners.
He is also the younger brother to Group 1-winning jockey Matthew McGillivray.
18. Nikki Olzard
Rockhampton product Nikki Olzard has begun her short-lived career in style as she continues to make her mark on the country circuit.
The 18-year-old underwent a year of guidance and teachings from former top provincial hoop Adrian Coome before she recorded 10 wins and 18 placings from 46 starts in her first (2022-23) season.
This season Olzard sits in second spot on the country apprentices leaderboard, seven wins behind Brooke Johnson.
17. Amy Graham
Known for her hard work, Graham is tipped to transition through the grades quickly after showing some promising signs early on in her career.
In her first season (2022-23) she was able to secure third spot in the country apprentices rankings while also nabbing two provincial wins.
She’s hit the ground running this season with six wins and six-and-a-half-placings from her first 32 country starts.
16. Brooke Johnson
Johnson finished second behind Tyler Leslight in the country apprentices rankings last season and was also able to snatch three wins and seven and a half placings at the provincial level.
From 89 starts this season the 21-year-old sits seven spots clear at the top of the country apprentices leaderboard with 21 victories and 27 placings.
She’s proven as one to follow when riding for Clinton Taylor, son of Sunshine Coast trainer Garnett, as the pair are striking at a 25 win and 75 place percentage early on in the season.
15. Ronald Simpson
Indigenous jockey Ronald “Ron, Ronnie or Black Magic” Simpson is currently based and riding in NSW but has dabbled in a few Queensland meetings as his country claim is on the verge of running out.
Last season the 23-year-old finished with 29 wins and 40.5 placings from 194 starts on the country NSW circuit.
Simpson enjoyed a week-long stint with champion trainer Tony Gollan in September, where he rode a double at the Sunshine Coast.
“I am going close to outriding my claim in the country, so the boss has decided to let me go somewhere for three months on loan because it will be better for me in the long run to show my ability with some of the bigger trainers,” Simpson told Trenton Akers in September.
“He organised with Tony Gollan, who was happy to take me on for a week, so I came up to check it out and get some insight as to how it runs up here.
“I can’t thank Tony enough for giving me the opportunity, it has been a real eye opener, but he has gone out of his way to give me some opportunities, I got three rides (at the Sunshine Coast) and two went really well.
“It has opened some doors for me and put my name out there a bit in Brisbane, I really can’t thank him enough.”
In total, before returning home due to a personal matter, Simpson has had 13 Queensland provincial starts this season where he’s recorded three wins and four placings.
14. Alisha Donald
Despite being told “she would never ride”, Donald has followed in the footsteps of both of her parents, Darren and Kathy, who were both jockeys.
The Rockhampton based apprentice snatched a podium spot in the provincial apprentices standings last season with 41.5 wins and 83 placings from 355 starts.
The 24-year-old is striking at a 15.1 win and 30.2 place percentage this season at the provincial level.
In 2022, Donald also became the first jockey since the late but great Desiree Gill in 2013 to ride four winners at a Bundaberg meeting.
13. Jai Williams
The 19-year-old has been in prolific form in South East Queensland this season and is one of the first names circled for punters when sifting through the Gold Coast formguide.
Last season on the provincial apprentice standings, Williams finished with 23 wins and 39 placings from 159 starts.
This season, he is in second spot with 21 wins and 31 placings from 91 starts.
He is also the leading overall jockey on the current Gold Coast poly track, sitting three wins clear of Emily Lang.
The emerging hoop already has one eye on moving to the metropolitan area for the 2024-25 season and has begun riding trackwork in Brisbane one day a week.
He may even start in the city in the later stages of the 2023-24 campaign to help build momentum into the coming season.
12. Jasmine Cornish
Almost a year on from her dramatic fall during a trial at Beaudesert, it is still unknown whether or not Cornish will make a return to race riding.
The 21-year-old, who took home the Ipswich and Gatton premiership and the Queensland provincial apprentice title in 2021-22, underwent back surgery following her fall and has been in and out of the doctor’s office for the past 11 months.
Prior to her injury, Cornish sat third in the provincial apprentice jockeys and second in the metropolitan apprentice jockeys standings.
It was last reported in June that Cornish had slowly and safely made a return to riding horses at home.
11. Tyler Leslight
At just 24, it’s already been a whirlwind career for Leslight who first made headlines in 2022 when openly speaking on his gender transition and life as a transgender jockey.
Since then he ended the 2022-23 season as the country apprentice champion and finished just two wins behind Robert Faehr in the overall jockeys standings.
His performances helped him land a three-month loan deal with Eagle Farm trainer Desleigh Forster, which Leslight began in October.
“I want to test the waters and see if I can make the grade,” Leslight told Racing Queensland.
“I will always be Billy Johnson’s apprentice but like he told me, I need to have a crack because if I don’t then I will never know.
“I would love to ride in the provincials midweek and then if I was to head out to the bush on the weekend to help out the country trainers, that would be great.”
10. Montana Philpot
A tough 12 months is putting it very, very lightly for Montana Philpot who hasn’t ventured far from the hospital bed due to a series of major setbacks.
The 24-year-old suffered her first fall in a freak post-race incident at the Sunshine Coast on April 24, 2022 and spent five months out recovering from two broken collarbones, a broken rib on the left side of her neck, four breaks in her pelvis and a collapsed lung.
Philpot returned to light duties in late September before suffering another fall during trackwork on October 17, 2022, where she broke her left collarbone again and returned to the operating table where they removed the old plate and put a full one across both breaks.
Then, 355 days after her first injury, Philpot returned to the races for just 2½ months before sadly being sidelined for another four months due to a broken leg.
Despite her horror run of injuries Philpot has still been able to impress in the saddle as she recorded 15 wins and 31 placings from 113 starts in the 2022-23 season.
Fingers crossed she’s back at the races soon after making a return to the Sunshine Coast trials on October 17.
9. Tahlia Fenlon
After taking out the Country Apprentice Jockeys Premiership for the 2021-22 season, and beginning her career under veteran Rockhampton trainer Fred Smith, Fenlon has now transferred her apprenticeship to Chris Munce on the Gold Coast.
After riding over 100 winners in Central Queensland, the talented 20-year-old felt the time was right to make the move to town.
“I have no country claim left and I have two kilograms at the provincials and I had someone ask me if I would be keen to come down,” Fenlon told Racing Queensland in May.
“The opportunity came up and I thought I would give it a go.
“Chris called and said he had been watching me ride and offered to take me on with a three month loan. The plan is to extend the loan if it all goes well.”
She’s since had four wins and 15 placings from her opening 56 provincial rides.
8. Jasper Franklin
Franklin is still a fresh face to the Queensland formguide but is quickly making a name for himself with a handful of wins at the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast.
In May the 20-year-old, who took out Racing NSW’s 2022-23 Rising Star Series for apprentices, decided to take four months off from racing following an extensive battle with his weight.
“I was down in Sydney after getting an opportunity to go down to Mark Newman and be his apprentice which was great,” he said.
“I started off with a bang but then unfortunately for me but fortunately for Mark, he got the opportunity to go to Hong Kong which started a bit of a downward spiral for me.”
In September, Franklin relocated to the Sunshine State where he currently works under Group 1-winning jockey-turned-trainer Peter Robl on the Gold Coast.
From 30 starts Franklin has recorded seven victories and nine placings and has shot up to sixth spot on the provincial apprentices leaderboard.
7. Jake Molloy
He’s had to fight hard for his spot but Molloy was able to muster career-best form last season thanks to the guidance of Toowoomba trainer Lindsay Hatch.
Molloy, who was formerly based on the Sunshine Coast in 2020 and 2021, rode just 171 times in that period compared to his 410 starts in 2022.
“I didn’t think my career was going as good as I would’ve liked just due to my limited opportunities so I started riding work for Lindsay, Mark Currie and Tony Sears and really just went from there,” he said in January.
The former amateur boxing star took out the provincial apprentice premiership last season and has recorded three metropolitan victories since August.
6. Emily Lang
Arguably one of Queensland’s most touted young stars is continuing to shine after a series of standout performances across Queensland.
The Steve O’Dea and Matt Hoysted stable apprentice has enjoyed a fairytale start to her riding career, which began by her perfect five wins from five rides at just her second ever race meeting.
Lang credited her early career success to the teachings and patience of O’Dea who set a precedent of 100 trials and jumpouts before heading to the races.
“Steve highlighted to me that it was better to be as prepared as possible and ended up telling me I had to do 50 trials and just as many jumpouts before race riding,” she told this masthead in July 2022.
“At the start I just wanted to get to the races and was thinking ‘what’s this guy doing’ but halfway through I figured I wasn’t as good as I thought I was and only started to get on a roll when I got to the 50 mark.
“I couldn’t count how many I would’ve done but it was definitely worth it because it really is another massive step up.”
The 23-year-old leads the provincial apprentices leaderboard this season with 27 wins and 51 placings from 150 starts.
5. Cejay Graham
After months of travelling almost six hours from Port Macquarie to Brisbane on race days and to ride trackwork, the 24-year-old made the move at the beginning of July to work under premier trainer Kelly Schweida.
“I’m really enjoying the racing, the lifestyle, the mentorship and advice from Kelly and the overall support from the Queensland trainers,” she told this masthead in July.
“I’m definitely my own worst critic and I know I’ve still got a lot to learn but getting those winners home is a big confidence booster and I can’t believe the position that I’m in.”
Since her first race ride in 2017, Graham has suffered a broken back and two broken wrists but said she was proud of her recent performances.
Graham, who is the daughter of former jockey and current NSW trainer Peter, has recorded 22 wins and 32 placings from 158 metro starts as well as four wins and 12 placings from 61 provincial starts.
Before the 2023-24 season she said her goal was simple.
“To be honest if I could just ride a whole season I’d be very happy,” Graham said.
“I haven’t done that in a while with my stop, start career so if I can keep my momentum up and see where it takes me that would be great.”
4. Jaden Lloyd
The eldest son of Jeff Lloyd and older brother to Sydney jockey Zac, Jaden has continued to rise through the grades across South East Queensland.
In the past two seasons the 21-year-old has finished in second spot on the metropolitan apprentices board.
He was in with a shot in 2021-22 before picking up a five-week suspension and then opting to take a further two months away from race riding.
He eventually finished 10½ wins behind Kyle Wilson-Taylor and then in 2022-23 ended up 30 wins behind Angela Jones but had 172 less starts.
In January, Lloyd said seeing the success of his brother Zac in NSW and the support from his father Jeff was a driving factor of his success.
“I speak to dad before and after every race meet as we go through my rides, he kind of goes through how he would ride them and I just try to listen,” he said.
“Then after the race he tells me what I can work on or what I did well so he really is a great help to me and my brother and I don’t think we’d be doing as well as we are without him.”
He has also proven as one to look out for when aboard a runner from the established John Symons and Sheila Laxon stable.
3. Bailey Wheeler
The lightweight hoop started with Kris Lees in Newcastle before beginning his Queensland career with Chris Anderson and is now with Sydney trainer Annabel Neasham, who operates an Eagle Farm satellite stable.
“Kris Lees is obviously a big stable and everything happens very quick so I’m still a bit younger and just needed a fresh start so thought Queensland was a good spot for me,” Wheeler said in March.
“I thought the apprentices up here were at my level and my aim is to win an apprentice premiership up here.”
Wheeler savoured a career highlight when riding Fancy Man ($8.50) to victory in the Listed Queensland Cup (2400m) on October 7, but his achievement was short-lived after it was reported he would be stood down due to missing trackwork.
The 18-year-old finished second on the provincial apprentices leaderboard last season and is currently 5½ wins behind Cejay Graham on metropolitan apprentices standings.
2. Angela Jones
The 22-year-old has had a pure and professional rise to the top of the Queensland jockey ranks, smashing goals and expectations every season.
Jones, who is another star-studded talent thanks to the teachings of Lindsay Hatch, finished half a win behind Jasmine Cornish for the 2021-22 provincial apprentice title before taking out the 2022-23 metropolitan apprentice by 30 wins.
Her total 79 victories positioned her third on the overall metro leaderboard (behind Ben Thompson and James Orman), which to put in perspective, would’ve been enough winners to take out the outright premiership in every one of the last four seasons.
Her feat was even more admirable as she only had three metropolitan rides in the previous season.
She currently sits in seventh spot on the metropolitan jockeys rankings with 11 wins and 17 placings this season.
1. Kyle Wilson-Taylor
From being on the verge of complete homelessness to being knocked back twice by Victorian race riding officials, Kyle Wilson-Taylor’s rise has been nothing short of impressive.
The 23-year-old finished as the leading metropolitan apprentice in 2021-22 before cracking the top five the following season on the overall metropolitan jockey rankings.
In June he secured his first Group 1 victory when he partnered the Chris Munce-trained mare Palaisipan to a landmark victory in the Tatt’s Tiara.
Away from the track, Wilson-Taylor announced his engagement to Angela Jones in July.
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