BENDIGO’S Brad Rawiller will tomorrow add a second Australian jockey premiership to his growing list of honours.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
With two days remaining in the racing season, Rawiler has won 166-½ races, well clear of second placed Greg Ryan on 155.
Rawiller’s effort to win the title comes depsite missing the best part of three months of riding because of a broken foot and suspension.
He said yesterday that at one stage he didn’t hold much prospect for the season after coming back from suspension on Oaks Day and then being unable to get a ride for the last two meetings of the Flemington carnival.
“I thought that’s it, back to the drawing board and knuckle down and ride every day to get myself back into form,” Rawiller said.
“Those next three months is where I really won the most of my winners – about 80 – but then unfortunately leading into the autumn I got suspended, and then suspended again.
“What I’ve been able to draw from it, is to just hang in there and this season I ended up with 35 city winners which is a pretty good number considering I missed so much.”
Rawiller has been a freelancer for his entire career with regular support from mainstream trainers like Darren Weir and Michael Kent.
He said that while he gives priority to those two stables, he also rides for other trainers such as Luke Oliver, John McArdle and Clinton and Ross McDonald.
“It’s a tough job being a jockey and three-quarters of it is mental strength,” Rawiller said,.
“You’ve got to be physically tough but mentally tough is probably every bit as important.
“I’ve been riding for a long time and know how important it is going to the races and enjoying yourself.”
Rawiller won his first Australian jockey premiership in 2007-08 when he rode 217 winners for the season.
It’s a big week for the Rawiller family, with Brad’s brother Nash holding a 2-½ win lead over Hugh Bowman in the race for the Sydney premiership.
Tomorrow’s seven-race meeting at Warwick Farm will decide the title.