A confident ride aboard the Janelle Millar-trained Pure Incanto (NZ) (Per Incanto) at New Plymouth on Friday saw former jumps jockey Lemmy Douglas register his first win on the flat after making a commitment this season to relaunch his career as a flat rider.
The 27-year-old from Swindon in the south-west of England had never sat on a horse until he was 21 and decided to take up a career in the saddle to honour the wishes of his grandfather.
“When I left school, I trained as a chef and had never ever touched a horse,” Douglas said.
“I used to watch the races with my granddad, and he told me all the time he would have loved to have a top rugby player and a jockey in the family.
“As I was the smallest, I guess the jockey role was the option for me, so I approached Paul Webber who ran a big stable in Banbury which is not that far from Swindon and that was where I learnt to ride.
“I was there for a couple of years and then I rode over fences and a few on the flat for another trainer, Tim Vaughan, and that was where I met a New Zealand trainer in Ken Duncan.
“Ken had come over from New Zealand to go to the Cheltenham Jumps festival and a mate of mine, Charlie Price, went back to New Zealand and spent some time riding for Ken there before coming back home.
“I heard Ken was looking for someone to fill that gap, so I got on the phone and headed out to New Zealand for what was supposed to be a six-month stint.”
That was in April 2018 and Douglas hasn’t looked back despite not having the success he would have liked over the fences.
“I love the jumps races, but I only managed a couple of wins as I spent a lot of time injured,” he said.
“I’ve broken my shoulder, some ribs and suffered quite a few other injuries so I’ve pretty much done it all.
“You hear a lot of people saying how brave jumps jockeys are and I guess that’s true, but I also think we’re bloody stupid as well.”
With his weight sitting around the 63kg mark, a conversation with well-known Hawke’s Bay horsewoman Sue Thompson struck a chord with Douglas and he decided a career on the flat was there for him if he could just get his weight down.
“I was talking to Sue Thompson one day and she told me one of her biggest regrets when she was riding over fences was that she didn’t give flat riding a go as she was a natural lightweight,” Douglas said.
“She said if I didn’t do it now, I would regret it, so I thought hard about it and decided to see if I could get my weight down to around 53.5kg, which I knew would be a massive ask.
“My partner Brenna became my mentor and she’s a very tough taskmaster. I cut out sugar, fizzy drinks, alcohol and chocolate and it was pretty easy to drop about 6kgs, but the last three kilos have been really hard going.
“I got there though and it must have had an effect as I’ve had so many people come up to me and tell me how good I look and even had a few who just didn’t recognise me.”
The next task for Douglas was to obtain a flat riding license which was secured through him becoming apprenticed to New Plymouth trainer Janelle Millar.
“Janelle has been amazing and so was Kevin Myers, who helped me with the trial rides I needed to get my apprentice license.
“The local New Plymouth trainers like Allan Sharrock and Robbie Patterson, have also been magic and there has been a bit of a contest to see who could give me my first winner.”
Douglas went close to that elusive moment on his first day riding as a 4kg claimer, running second abord the Patterson-trained Eddie Wood (NZ) (Redwood) at Awapuni on November 14, before going one better on Friday for Millar on Pure Incanto.
“I had a good book of rides on Friday and went close a couple of times, so the pressure was on in the last race to try and get the job done,” he said.
“I had ridden Pure Incanto in a couple of jumpouts which she won easily, so I thought if I could just get some cover, she was a big chance and we managed that and got the win.
“It was magic to do it for Janelle, but I also have to thank everyone else who has been supporting me as it was such a massive thrill to be able to do it for them as well.”
Douglas made it two wins within the space of 24 hours when he guided home the Allan Sharrock-trained Darci La Bella (NZ) (Darci Brahma) at Awapuni on Saturday as he sets out to achieve his initial goal for the season.
“I would love to have lost my 4kg claim by January or February, which would set me up perfectly for the winter,” he said.
“I’ve had twelve rides on the flat now for two wins and 7 placings, which is great, and I hope that gives trainers the confidence to put me on.
“I’m not your normal first season apprentice as with my jumps riding background, I have good experience and I don’t let the pressure get to me.
“I’m also keen to reward Janelle where I can as she took a risk on me and hopefully, she can reap the benefits of that decision.”
Douglas isn’t contemplating a return home to England anytime soon having fallen in love with the New Zealand lifestyle.
“I love it here, the winters are so much milder although the summers can get a bit hot,” he said.
“I don’t have any plans to go home and just want to give it my best shot while I am here.
“I know Brenna will be on my tail to make a go of it and that’s what I plan to do.”
