Christian Reith chases homecoming coup with Kaepernick in Stradbroke

POLL: CHRISTIAN Reith will be the proudest of Queenslanders if he can pull off a Stradbroke coup on wildcard entry Kaepernick on Saturday.

Christian Reith will ride Kaepernick in the Stradbroke. Picture: Mark Evans

CHRISTIAN Reith will be the proudest of Queenslanders if he can pull off a Stradbroke coup on wildcard entry Kaepernick on Saturday.

Sydney-based Reith still calls himself a Brisbane boy and says “it’s always good to see some old friendly faces’’.

“I’ve ridden a couple of Group 1 winners down south and it would be wonderful to come back home and do it here as well,’’ he said. “I think I’ve got the horse to do it.”

As a youngster, Reith was second to Brad Stewart in the 1997-98 metropolitan apprentices’ title but opportunities dried up in Queensland and he sought rides elsewhere, including internationally, before making a successful career in NSW.

He hit his peak at the turn of the decade, riding 427 winners in the four seasons from 2010-11 to 2013-14, with highlights including the Coolmore Stud Stakes on gun filly Nechita.

He also rode Complacent to win the Spring Champion Stakes for Darley during that golden run.

Reith was alerted some time ago he was a front runner to ride the Team Hawkes-trained Kaepernick and said he would make the 52kg comfortably.

Le Romain was originally pegged as Reith’s Stradbroke mount, but Kris Lees was not happy with the horse and turned him out.

Now fate has landed him on Kaepernick, a horse with the last-start rating to win but with a question mark over his preparation after missing a lead-up in the QTC Cup.

“We would have liked him to have raced last week but that’s why they have given him the trial. I would have liked to have drawn softer but you work with the cards you’re dealt,’’ he said.

“The bottom line is he’s a very good horse and if I can get a bit of luck in running, and be able to nurse him for a while, he can run over them.’’

Reith has spoken of his past, when drug and alcohol abuse nearly ruined his career. He also battled depression. He carries a permanent reminder of his struggles in the form of a snake and devil tattoo, signalling his dark past, but nearby he also houses an orange koi fish, a symbol of “good fortune”.

Last season was not a memorable one for Reith, but he is happy with recent events, which includes Le Romain’s upset of Press Statement in the Group 1 Randwick Guineas.

Christian Reith, left, steers Le Romain to victory in the Randwick Guineas. Picture: Jenny Evans

“Things have picked up a bit in the past six to eight months,” he said. “I’m getting on some better horses and the opportunities are coming back again.

“I feel privileged that connections have given me more chances of late and I’m having some luck along the way. Hopefully it can continue.’’

Reith also rides Redouble for Team Hawkes in the J.J. Atkins and is on Tap This for Peter and Paul Snowden in the Oaks on Saturday.

Originally published as Christian Reith chases homecoming coup with Kaepernick in Stradbroke