It’s no surprise that soon-to-be SA apprentice jockey Stacey Metcalfe felt an affinity with Gai Waterhouse.
Stacey has been on loan to the Waterhouse-Adrian Bott stable in NSW for the past three months, ahead of arriving in Adelaide this week to launch a new chapter in her career.
If Gai-like energy, enthusiasm and positivity counts for anything, the 33-year-old will taste plenty of success in Adelaide, after relishing her experience with the first lady of Australian racing.
“She gets the best out of you and she puts a lot of work into you as an individual,” Stacey said.
“You’d think you’d get lost in the numbers, being in such a big team, but Gai messages me regularly and she’s always got something for me to work on.
“And if I don’t send her a report about the horses, you know about it.
“Her attention to detail is incredible.”
Stacey’s journey from supermarket check-out operator to jockey began in Wentworth, near Mildura, after she started riding trackwork for her friend and local trainer, Cindy Brander.
“Cindy got a trainer’s licence and needed someone to ride trackwork for her,” Stacey explained.
“I love riding, so I said ‘I’ll learn to ride trackwork’.
“I started riding for her and did a jump-out. I jumped off the horse and said ‘Wow, I definitely need to be a jockey’.
“I absolutely loved it. I was working in a supermarket at the time and I immediately thought I needed a dramatic career change.”
Stacey made that decision six years ago and landed her first winner at Pooncarie, aboard Rainbow Bay, trained by her friend Cindy.
After riding plenty of country winners, she eventually found her way to Wagga Wagga, NSW, then to Wyong, where she became a stable apprentice for Alan Denham. Again, plenty of provincial winners flowed, contributing to her current career winning tally of 89.
When the offer to temporarily transfer to the powerful Waterhouse-Bott stable came up, Stacey jumped at the opportunity.
“It’s been amazing – I’ve never ridden so many horses in my life,” she said.
“Oh my Lord, they are just some of the most well-educated horses. It’s like they know the timer themselves – they are fabulous.
“Yes, they are very expensive, although I try not to think about the price tag.
“But as I said, the most I’ve taken out of it is from Gai, the great lady herself.”
Despite enjoying her time in NSW, Stacey said a yearning for more opportunities, plus a connection with South Australian jockey Eran Boyd, led to her decision to relocate.
“That’s how I got in contact with Briony Moore (TRSA Apprentice Academy supervisor), via Eran,” Stacey said.
“I met Eran at either Broken Hill or Wentworth and she’s just beautiful.
“I’m looking forward to having more race riding opportunities in South Australia. At the moment I might only be getting six rides a week: one or two at the metro meetings and two or three at the provincials.
“It’s a very big pool of jockeys in NSW and they’re elite level. Even when you go to the provincials you still get Tommy Berry, Tim Clark, Brenton Avdulla and Nash Rawiller, so it makes it quite difficult to get rides.”
Stacey has just one more winner required to cut her provincial claim from 3kg to 2kg. She already has a metropolitan winner to her credit, after saluting on The Party Girl for David Pfieffer.
Before leaving NSW, Stacey caught up with one of her mentors, in-form Sydney jockey Rachel King, who has a reputation for being willing to help apprentice jockeys. The advice imparted centred around the important things Stacey needs to do during the next phase of her career.
In Adelaide Stacey will link up with the John Hyam stable. Former SA dux of the academy, Sigrid Carr, was stationed with John, who is the son-in-law of fellow trainer Byron Cozamanis – all of which means Stacey will have plenty of expert experience around her.
In South Australia, Stacey will be managed by Dean Pettit.
Caption:
Stacey Metcalfe will join the SA riding ranks from this week, via the NSW stables of Alan Denham and Gai Waterhouse-Adrian Bott. IMAGE: supplied