Rodd ready to shine on Jewel

ATLANTIC Jewel’s jockey Michael Rodd concedes there’s going to be a world of difference between Saturday’s Cox Plate and the one he “stole’’ on Maldivian.

Michael Rodd

ATLANTIC Jewel’s jockey Michael Rodd concedes there’s going to be a world of difference between Saturday’s Cox Plate and the one he "stole" on Maldivian five years ago.

Rodd knows he will be the hunted on Saturday, with rivals out to make the task of short-priced favourite Atlantic Jewel as difficult as possible.

“It’s definitely a different build up this time,” Rodd said.

“She’s obviously a short-priced favourite and deservedly so.

“Last time we went into it under the radar with Maldivian, his form wasn’t that great and Kav (trainer Mark Kavanagh) had to rejuvenate him.

“We had a bit of luck in running. I was able to lead on him and get away with a few easy sectionals.

“She’s a whole different kettle of fish. We can’t be taking off at the half mile. We need to give her a nice soft cosy run early and be a little bit patient on her, which isn’t ideal for a Cox Plate.

“The pressure goes on early round near the half mile coming up the hill and if you miss the boat there you can sometimes be out of the race.

“So I have to tread a fine line with the way I ride her.”

Rodd admits he’s keen to just get the week out of the way, but is also mindful of soaking up the adulation that comes with riding a superstar like Atlantic Jewel.

“I might not ever be in this position again in my life leading into a big race on a horse like this, so you do want to be able to enjoy the moment a bit,” he said.

“There’s going to be a lot more expectation. I will be getting a lot more attention.

“It’s not only media, but people in the street like to come up and talk about the race as well.

“Some of it I really enjoy. But if you start playing it out too much in your head you can cook yourself.

“It’s good that it’s a busy day Friday and Friday night racing to take your mind off it, but Saturday is going to be a bit of a drag, with it being the last race.

“There’s a lot more time for your head to tick over.

“But if you tick all the boxes, which I will this week doing all I can form wise, you can take away some of the uncertainty and nervousness.”

Rodd won the Melbourne Cup for Lloyd Williams on Efficient in 2007 and has a tentative booking for one of the stable’s runners in this year’s race, although he’s unsure which horse it might be yet.