Jockey Blake Shinn is set to take up the challenge of re-establishing himself amongst Sydney’s top jockey ranks when he resumes riding at Gosford tomorrow.
Blake Shinn will return to riding at Gosford on Wednesday - photo © Steve Hart
The controversial jockey is returning form a six week stint on the sidelines after Racing New South Wales stewards found him guilty of improper riding at Canterbury on May 16.
“I’ve kept in good shape riding plenty of work and looking forward to the challenge,” Shinn said.
“I’ve been working really hard behind the scenes on a few different issues and I’m in a really good place and I’m going to let my work ethic talk for me.”
Shinn hit the headlines when he rode Viewed to win the 2008 Emirates Melbourne Cup for Bart Cummings but his career was thrown into turmoil when he was disqualified for twelve months for betting.
The Melbourne Cup winning jockey had only been back riding for six months before falling foul of the Stewards again with the improper riding charge.
Shinn returns with six rides at Gosford tomorrow and has been received well amongst the trainers.
His first ride for the day in on Birdlife in the No Metro Win Handicap over 1200m for Guy Walter with whom he had success when he rode Skyerush to win the Group 2 $175,000 Emancipation Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on April 28.
Shinn has also picked up two rides for premiership trainer Chris Waller, Resort Habit in the No Metro Win Windy Peak Handicap (1600m) and Oogy Sun in the Benchmark 70 Tooheys New Handicap (1200m).
Bede Murray, Clarry Conners and Anthony Cummings are also glad to see Shinn back in the saddle and have supported him with a ride each.
The Gosford track for tomorrow’s meetings has been rated a slow 7 after receiving 18mm of rain for the last week.
With the season coming to an end, Shinn is keen to add to his seventeen metropolitan winners and get establish for the beginning of the new season.
Hugh Bowman has the Sydney’s jockey premiership wrapped up with eighty-six and a half winners, well clear of last year’s title holder Nash Rawiller on seventy.
Trainer Chris Waller has his second trainer’s premiership in the bag after training well over a hundred winners for the second year in a row.
With four Saturdays to go, Waller has saddled up 111½ metropolitan winners and looks set to pass last year’s total of 117.
