It came as no surprise to see Darwin apprentice Jade Hampson win her first race back at Fannie Bay on Saturday.
The 18-year-old had spent three months in South Australia late last year to further her education after having the opportunity to ride for the Richard and Chantelle Jolly stable in Adelaide.
Partnering the Tayarn Halter-trained Fischer ($1.80 fav) in the opening race of the Darwin Turf Club’s six-event program, the teenager kicked off 2023 in style by guiding the four-year-old gelding to a first win in his eighth career start.
It may have only been a 1300m maiden, but Fischer had already performed with distinction against quality opposition as a three-year-old; and although he has only just returned from a decent spell, the odds-on quote was justified.
However, the son of Zoustar, who has three seconds on his CV, missed the start before picking up the leaders with ease and once making a move down the side of the track kicked clear in the home straight to win by three lengths.
Darwin R1 replay | January 14, 2023 | Fischer (1st)
Debuting in Darwin last April, Hampson won her first race in her first start before also winning on debut at Alice Springs, Broome and Kununurra in WA, and Jamestown in SA.
By the end of last season she had won six times in both Darwin and Alice Springs and picked up a further five wins on her WA sojourn before tasting success on five occasions in SA – which included victory on Kalamon for the Jollys in the Jamestown Cup (1800m) in October.
Hampson, who has also landed race-day trebles at Alice Springs, Kununurra and Jamestown, enjoyed her time in SA, where she finished with five wins from 21 starts after riding for various trainers at Mindarie-Halidon, Morphettville, Port Lincoln, Gawler and Ceduna.
Her last appearance was on December 3, when she picked up a win at Ceduna.
“I had a good stint in SA – I hadn’t ridden on race day for over a month and it was nice to get a winner on Saturday,” Hampson, who has 24 wins from 126 career rides, said.
“Fischer’s still very green, but he did it quite easily and hopefully he’ll end up being a quality horse.
“I still think he has got a long way to go – he still rares up at the start, but it was great for the team.”
Happy to be home, where she has also been assisting her master Halter behind the scenes, Hampson said she had no regrets going to SA.
“I really enjoyed it – I definitely learnt lots and I understand a lot more about racing now,” she said.
“Just reading a race a lot better, I also had the chance to ride some quality horses.
“Big thanks to Richard and Chantelle, they definitely taught me a lot.”
While there is no denying the fact that the SA experience will benefit Hampson, there were hiccups.
“I got quite sick and then my weight went up, and I struggled,” she confessed.
“I just took a bit of a break – it wasn’t an injury or anything, it’s just that the body wasn’t coping well.
“There was a bit of a virus going around – a few people were getting sick and I caught it.
“It wasn’t working out, it was just a better option for me to head back to the NT.
“Obviously there was a lack of riders there as well.
“I’m able to get heavier rides back here and I can just let my weight come down as it does.
“I ended up losing 4kg for the first two weeks after getting back, which is just natural because you’re sweating so much here.”
Hampson can still claim 3kg and her minimum weight on Saturday was 56kg, but inevitably her weight will continue to fall in coming weeks.
“My strike rate in SA wasn’t too bad, so a few more winners and I’ll lose my 3kg claim,” Hampson said.
“I also continued with apprentice school in SA – that was very helpful.”
Further travelling might well be a thing of the past for Hampson and fellow NT apprentices, according to Thoroughbred Racing Northern Territory chief executive officer Andrew O’Toole.
“TRNT has formed an association with a registered training organisation, Skillinvest, and the NT Apprenticeship Board where by Skillinvest will take our young riders through their Certificates III and IV (jockey) to enable them to complete these Certificates during their apprenticeship,” he said.
“We have received some funding support from the NT Government for these courses which is much appreciated, and has been a long time coming.
“The Skillinvest assessor, Darryn Murphy, a former top class jockey, is the main man in this process, but the team at Skillinvest have been very supportive and are registered to undertake this training in the NT.”
Hampson added that Murphy had been a big help when it came to assisting NT apprentices.
“Darryn has been very supportive with me just running through my races and talking about everything over the phone whenever I ride,” she said.
If she didn’t already have enough on her plate, Hampson has found additional employment.
“I’ve just started working for the Darwin Turf Club – just to keep me busy during the day,” she said.
“Just trying to work as hard as I can and get my weight down – it’s definitely helped.
“I’m working long hours, it’s busy, but it’s worth it – you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”
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