Rising apprentice Jaylah Kennedy doubles up at Sandown with ‘brilliant ride’

McEvoy stable heaps praise on apprentice Jaylah Kennedy, who claimed her first city double at Sandown on Wednesday with Heart Of Glass and Scissor Step.

Jaylah Kennedy boots home Scissor Step at Sandown on Wednesday. Picture: Pat Scala / Racing Photos

Rising star Jaylah Kennedy claimed her first city double at Sandown on Wednesday with a pair for trainers Tony and Calvin McEvoy.

The 23-year-old apprentice jockey executed two brilliant rides to win aboard Heart Of Glass and Scissor Step.

Kennedy patiently camped off the leaders on Scissor Step in the 1000m Benchmark 78 and shaded runner-up Rattle And Bang to hold a three-quarter length margin to the line.

“I was happy to sit off it and let him find his feet in a nice rhythm,” Kennedy said.

“He lugged a big weight again today, I was pretty confident at the 400m when I was still travelling really well that he’s going to be able to go on with the job.”

Scissor Step, a half-brother to Steparty, gets the job done again at Sandown 🔥 @jaylahkennedy & @mcevoymitchell collect a double ✌️ pic.twitter.com/MAExCrzG6x

— Racing.com (@Racing) May 15, 2024

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Favourite Rain Lord and second elect Inundation, a notable drifter late in betting, finished worse than midfield.

Kennedy has ridden 10 city winners overall, including four in the past 11 days.

“I’m taking every opportunity as they come,” Kennedy said.

“I’m very thankful for the McEvoy team, they have put me on some really nice horses and we’ve got a really good connection together so hope we can keep it going and (hopefully) even branch out with some other trainers too and get some momentum.”

She looks pretty smart 👌

Heart Of Glass gets her third win from four career starts in a tight finish over 1000m at Sandown ❤️ @[e-mail]/sj2yHSJebP

— Racing.com (@Racing) May 15, 2024

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McEvoy racing manager Rayan Moore lauded Kennedy’s steer on Scissor Step.

“A brilliant ride there from Jaylah, very smooth, he missed the start, she didn’t panic and it was a strong win late,” Moore said.

Scissor Step is an older half-brother to untapped Group 3-winner Steparty, trained by Paul Preusker, who resumes on Saturday at Flemington in the Listed Straight Six.

Originally published as Rising apprentice Jaylah Kennedy doubles up at Sandown with ‘brilliant ride’