Apprentice jockey Alex Patis returns home to the Gold Coast to continue riding career
Meet the apprentice hoop set to light up the Gold Coast. Alex Patis left the Gold Coast at the age of 15 and has now returned having studied in the prestigious Victorian apprentice jockey program, won a premiership and with experience riding in two states.
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ALEX Patis has watched every Magic Millions race since the age of seven.
Now, at the age of 19 and after a four-year hiatus from the Gold Coast spent learning how to ride race horses, Patis has returned and the 2YO Classic she has dreamt of winning since she was a young child is at the forefront of her mind.
“I don’t think I have ever missed a Magic Millions from the age of seven,” Patis said.”
“Even when I moved away I’d fly back for them.
“Winning one would nearly be better than a Melbourne Cup for me because of the background and history I have had with it.
“They are very exciting for me.”
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The apprentice jockey offers to ride a couple of the two-year-old’s trained by new master Helen Page every day in case they turn out to be handy early-running sprinters
Patis had never ridden trackwork before she decided to pack her belongings and move to Melbourne at 15-years-of-age to join the Victorian apprentice jockey program, considered the best in Australia.
She spent two years at the school before beginning race riding in 2018, linking up with family friend and trainer Brent Stanley.
Patis struggled to get going again in Melbourne after a fall around Easter last year and accepted an offer to join leading Tasmanian Adam Trinder, the trainer of Group 1 winner Mystic Journey.
Patis rode 29 winners, including the 2019 Longford Cup on Hugo, to win the Tasmania apprentice premiership for the 2018-19 season. She also featured in Listed races.
It rained nearly everyday in Devonport, Tasmania, when Patis was based there but the coldest place she rode was Mansfield, a small town in the foothills of the Victorian Alps, where it used to get to minus seven degrees.
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Now she is riding on sunny spring Queensland days edging towards 30 degrees.
Patis said her time away had fast-tracked her development as she prepares to make her Gold Coast debut this Saturday on the Bruce Hill-trained $26 outsider Timely Bel in the Vale Geoff Lane Maiden Plate (900m), a race named in honour of one of the greatest apprentices Australia has ever produced.
“The more places you go the more people you meet. You get different advice from a lot of different people and it’s helped me develop as a rider and person,” Patis said.
Patis is eligible to claim 3kg and weighs 51kg, meaning she will claim 2kg for this Saturday’s ride.
Patis grew up riding horses, spending time at the Mudgeeraba Pony and Hack Club before competing independently.
She is a former Queensland sporting and camp drafting champion, finding her way into the sport through mother Shari Patis while her love of racing came from father and racehorse owner Rob Patis.
“We got to a point where we would go to the races and I’d hate being on the spectators side of the fence,” Patis said.
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Patis said she would aim to outride her provincial claim and win the Gold Coast apprentice premiership in her first season back home before trying to get more metropolitan rides in Brisbane next season.
Page said Gold Coast was crying out for another quality apprentice hoop and was impressed by Patis’ riding since joining the stable.
“She is a strong girl who can ride,” Page said.
“She is very confident, has lovely seat on a horse and nice sympathetic hands.
“As a person she is very settled in herself and understands the industry, which his important.
“She is just what we need here.”
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