The dream start to Reece Jones’ career in the saddle continued on Monday when the apprentice jockey rode Red Knot to victory in the $45,000 Coonabarabran Cup.
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Jones, a mature-age apprentice, only had his first ride in August but gave an indication of his talent when piloting Social to victory for Rodney Northam on debut.
He had been working under Northam for close to two years before then but all the toil and learning has come to fruition, with successive cup wins now in the bag.
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After guiding Red Knot to a tough win in the feature event at Coonamble earlier this month, Jones produced a fine front-running performance on the cup specialist again at Coonabarabran.
It also marked back-to-back Coonabarabran Cup wins for Red Knot and Northam, Serg Lisnyy piloting the gelding to victory for the Scone trainer a year ago.
“He’s a beautiful horse,” Jones told Sky Thoroughbred Central after the win.
“He’s an honest horse and just keeps trying and trying and that’s what you want in a racehorse.
“Cups, they’re really hard to come by and they’re really special so I’d really like to thank my boss, Mr Northam, and the owners.”
Red Knot had been well-favoured in the lead-up to the feature event but there was also plenty of interest around the Mack Griffith-trained Schedule and Brett Cavanough’s Miama Dade.
Schedule jumped a $3.50 favourite with Chad Lever in the saddle while Red Knot and Miami Dade were close behind at $3.60.
Jones and Red Knot got out well from barrier four and took their regular place at the front of the field.
Red Knot and the David Smith-trained Distinctive Look (Jake Pracey-Holmes, $21) set the pace early but they suffered vastly different fortunes when entering the straight.
Distinctive Look faded quickly as the rest of the field began to loom, but there was no such worries for Jones and Red Knot.
Northam’s hope booted clear and went on to win by a commanding four-and-a-half lengths from Miami Dade, ridden by Josh Adams, while Ima Baker (Anthony Cavallo, $41) edged out Itsa Fait Accompli (Michael Squires, $11) for third.
“I did think this race was a little tougher than Coonamble,” Northam said.
“He’s just come on nicely from that run and has obviously improved nicely. Reece rode him beautifully in front again and once he gets a break on them he’s always hard to run down.
“He (Jones) has been a good kid and we’ve been able to bring him along and teach him how to ride, He’s got a good head on his shoulders and he’s a mature-age apprentice, which I think helps.
“He’s getting some early success and hopefully it will keep improving from there.”
The win also secured a cup day treble for Scone-based Northam.
Both the earlier wins were ridden by Josh Adams, the first being The Debater ($3.70) in the OSM Constructions Class 1 Handicap before Dreamnomore ($4.20) saluted in the David Hunt and Dave Morrissey Class 3 Handicap (1600m).
Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
