A lack of riding opportunities has forced jockey Sam Collett to leave Queensland.

Brisbane-based jockey Sam Collett is heading back to New Zealand but has left the door open for a return to the Sunshine State.

Brisbane-based jockey Samantha Collett will return to New Zealand on June 8. Picture: Racing Queensland

Kiwi jockey Samantha Collett will return home to New Zealand early next month with “mixed emotions” but she hasn’t ruled out coming back to Queensland down the track.

The riding opportunities in the Sunshine State have dried up for three-time Group 1 winner Collett, who has been based in Brisbane since October 2021.

The 35-year-old will have her final ride at Eagle Farm on Queensland Oaks Day on June 7 before returning the next day to her hometown Matamata in the Waikato region.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had a fantastic run here and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it but I know that there really is a shortage of riders at home,” Collett said.

“While the prizemoney in Queensland is good, I’m here paying rent and getting only five or six rides a week so it’s not as profitable as I’d like.

“But hey if the opportunity ever arises to come back then I would in a heartbeat.

“I’ve just got to make the most money I can because you never know how long we’ll last in our line of work.”

Horse racing courses through the blood of Collett, who in Rockhampton in April 2023 emulated her parents and former jockeys Jim Collett and Trudy Thornton by riding 1000 winners.

“I don’t think it’s been done before – mother, father, daughter – so that’s pretty cool,” she said.

At Witz End wins the Listed Australian Turf Club Trophy at @SCTurfClub for @dannyb3685! pic.twitter.com/tHrD6UjoTh

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 11, 2024

"He's the most beautiful horse to ride"

Samantha Collett on At Witz End who won the Listed Australian Turf Club Trophy ay @SCTurfClub [e-mail]/WbUOgoSQCx

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 11, 2024

Collett plans to take a temporary step back from horse racing to work as a personal assistant at her sister Jessica’s law firm in Hamilton over winter before freshening up for a new chapter in her life back home.

She will miss her mum Trudy, who now lives on the Sunshine Coast, the close friendships she has formed in the jockeys’ room and Queensland’s warm winter days.

“I’ll tell you what I won’t miss, going home to the cold weather. Never have I ever complained about the weather here,” said the cousin of Sydney-based jockeys Jason and Alysha Collett.

“It’s definitely mixed emotions because I’ve met some fantastic people and I’m extremely grateful for the support that I’ve had.

“I would like to be in a position where I was getting enough rides for it to be really profitable.

“But I ride and work seven days a week and only get half a dozen rides. It just doesn’t really add up.

“I don’t want to be punching around and being mediocre, if you know what I mean.

“I want more. I’m too competitive to just accept that it is what it is. I want to make hay while the sun shines.”

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After selling her Matamata farm at the end of last year, Collett will crash with her dad Jim until she finds her feet again.

She admits to personally struggling with life in Brisbane at times, missing the pleasant distractions of the farm, but she is pleased with her riding achievements in Queensland.

“It’s been some of the toughest years of my life personally just with things I’ve had to sacrifice in being here and whatnot but from a riding perspective, I’ve achieved a lot,” said Collett, who won her three Group 1s in New Zealand.

“I rode on Everest Day, I’ve ridden half-a-dozen stakes winners here and had support from the biggest trainers here.

“I don’t want to say I’m satisfied with it because the competitive side of me will always want to have done more or had more success but I know there are people here who would support me in the future if I do come back.”

Originally published as A lack of riding opportunities has forced jockey Sam Collett to leave Queensland.