Following his best season on record last year, jockey Stathi Katsidis is confident about this year’s Spring Racing Carnival.
Shoot Out will be racing some real champions and amongst them he’s a great chance in the race. The Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup are probably the biggest races in Australia and he’s a live chance in both of those races.
Riding Shoot Out, trained by John Wallace, as his main horse in Melbourne, Katsidis will compete in the Cox Plate, the MacKinnon Stakes and the Melbourne Cup.
“It’s probably one of the best Cox Plates in many years to come,” Katsidis said, naming More Joyous, trained by Gai Waterhouse, and Bart Cummings’ trained superstar So You Think as the toughest competitors.
“Shoot Out will be racing some real champions and amongst them he’s a great chance in the race. The Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup are probably the biggest races in Australia and he’s a live chance in both of those races,” Katsidis said.
Shoot Out has competed very well in Melbourne so far this season, winning two early races and being placed in a number of good races, Katsidis said.
“The Cox Plate is always a hard race to win and he was an early favourite for that race, but since So You Think and More Joyous have been in such good form he’s not quite so favoured at the moment,” he said.
Despite the odds, Katsidis said Shoot Out is definitely a chance for the Cox Plate.
“The horse is as good as he can possibly be; he’s definitely the knockout horse in the race. So You Think is definitely the horse to beat and More Joyous will be right there, but Shoot Out will be flying home late and I think he’s some chance of knocking them all out,” he said.
Katsidis is confident to be riding the horse he names as his favourite.
“I’ve ridden a number of good horses in my career but Shoot Out is definitely the standout,” he said.
While Shoot Out has only just turned four years old and is competing against horses that are a lot older, he’s adapting well to the industry, Katsidis said.
“He’s still learning the whole racing game, he’s a little bit immature. He used to be quite a hard pulling horse but he’s learned to relax now and his stable is very happy with him; the horse couldn’t be better,” Katsidis said. “From a Cox Plate point of view, he’s a great chance and I really think he can win the Melbourne Cup; it’s very exciting,” he said.
The Queensland jockey has ridden Shoot Out in the majority of his starts, and won the AJC Australian Derby on him at Sydney’s Randwick racecourse last year.
“That was probably my biggest win,” he said, adding that his career highlight would be a toss-up between the AJC Australian Derby and the Magic Millions at the Gold Coast.
“The Magic Millions was worth more than the Derby but the Derby probably carries more prestige,” he said.
Working in such a physically intense industry hasn’t always been an easy ride though.
In November 2008, the jockey broke his femur and suffered a compound fracture after a fall, which saw him out of racing for 18 months. However, he said this break from racing was just what he needed to get back in the proverbial and literal saddle again.
“I came back after that break and I rode the most winners in Australia for the next season. I rode 175 winners for the season and won the Australian premiership, so obviously that 18 month break was good,” he said.
Constant riding and racing takes its toll on the body, Katsidis says.
“I probably really needed that break and I came back and had my best season ever last season, so things work out for a reason.”
The Gold Coast native, who has won three premierships in Queensland said it will always be his home state, though he loves riding in Melbourne and Sydney.
“My favourite track would be Randwick, but I love Queensland. I love the weather up here, you certainly notice a difference in winter; it’s not really winter here,” he said.
In the lead up to his races Katsidis said it’s important to keep busy.
“You have to keep riding as much as possible, keep your reflexes intact and just constantly keep focused,” he said. Katsidis said it’s important to “try not to get suspended before these main races, which is one of those things that happens in racing”.
The jockey said riding lots of winners is always good for confidence. “I was able to ride six winners last week, which is a good confidence boost,” he said.
Maintaining a healthy diet is also vital.
“I always keep an eye on my diet but I have to keep it strict so I can be as strong as possible for the horse in the two miles for the Melbourne Cup,” Katsidis says.
In keeping his weight controlled for rides, Katsidis sometimes has to lose a kilo or two, but in his upcoming races with Shoot Out he won’t need to.
“With Shoot Out being a fancied horse he will always have a lot of weight; I don’t have to worry about it so much with him,” he said.
Katsidis’ riding weight is 53 kilos occasionally, 54 kilos regularly.
Shoot Out is allotted 58 kilos in the Cox Plate, and 55 kilos for the Melbourne Cup, making him the highest-weighted AJC Australian Derby winner for the Melbourne Cup since Universal Prince was given 55.5 kilos in 2001 after also winning the 2000 Spring Champion Stakes and 2001 Canterbury Guineas as a three-year-old.
Katsidis is one of only a handful of Greeks in the racing industry, but says this has never created an issue.
“If you’ve got the ability people don’t seem to care what nationality you are,” he said.
However, the Greek connection is always strong when it is there. Katsidis has ridden a couple of winners this season in Queensland for leading racehorse owner, Nick Moraitis, best known for champion Might and Power.
“When I do find Greeks in racing they love putting me on their horses,” he said.
The Tatts Cox Plate will take place next Saturday, October 23. For more information on the Spring Racing carnival visit: http://www.vrc.net.au/victoria-racing-club/