Champion English Apprentice Heads to Melbourne
November 7th 2008 07:10
The Champion Apprentices’ Title in England will go right down to the last day of the flat racing season with 19 year old David Probert, and 20 year old William Buick, locked together on fifty wins each.
(photo: timesonline)
As I write this Buick is currently under suspension and Probert has one last chance to ride the single winner that would see him crowned as Champion Apprentice for season 2008.
The significance of this for Australia lay in the fact that at the conclusion of the flat racing season in England David Probert will be coming to Australia to have a stint with Tony Noonan at Mornington.
Buick will head to Dubai to ride for Dhubra Selvaratnam.
Both apprentices are attached to the stable of Andrew Balding. Probert is the son of a Welsh saddler and lives on the Baldings’ Kingsclere property - while Buick is the son of a former champion jockey in Scandinavia and lives with his father off the property.
The two apprentices are friends off the track, but the competitive juices see them ultra competitive on race days.
William Buick is already further established as a jockey having outridden his claim last May and has ridden his first Group Race winner in the Group Three St Simon Stakes at Newbury on Buccellati
Andrew Balding sums up the attributes and potential of both apprentices:
“There's a little bit of the Lewis Hamilton about William. He can push the safety boundaries. Riders sometimes find him a bit too competitive, but he has ridden very responsibly this year. David has had his share of bans this year, but some of that is down to the stewards teaching him a lesson.”
“David is not a strong, aggressive rider but he has a great awareness of pace. At the start of the year he had only ridden one winner from about 50 rides. He has taken time to get the hang of it but he is more of a natural horseman that William. In my opinion, William has everything. Hopefully that will come to David in time.”
David Noonan trained a winner over the Flemington Carnival with Beaming on Oaks Day (Thursday) in the Crown Promenade Sprint (1100m). The stable was desperately unlucky on Melbourne Cup Day (Tuesday ) when Jacqueline Rouge failed by a nose after racing wide.
These comments from Andrew Balding (published in RACENEWSonline on July 10th 2008) would explain the connection between he and David Noonan - and why the opportunity has arisen for David Probert :
“I’m so pleased for the owners Peter and Jennifer McMahon. They’ve got four horses with me. He ran really well in the Britannia and it was taking a bit of a punt because they have been over from Melbourne, Australia for a month and I haven't had a winner for them since they have been over. So we were rolling the dice a little bit with the cheekpieces and stepping up in trip but it worked.
“I know them through Tony Noonan, who bought their horses for them. He trains in Melbourne and has been a friend of mine for years and he introduced us.
“David’s a very handy 7lb apprentice. He’s got a cool head, he’s neat and tidy, and horses run for him. His father is a farrier in Wales and David has probably been with us for two and a half years. He’s a very similar make and shape to William (Buick) - very light young lad but a very good horseman and a very good rider.
David Probert
(minimum riding weight) 7-5
wins: 50
rides: 438
total prizemoney: £336,808
William Buick
(minimum riding weight) 7-12
wins: 50
rides: 545
total prizemoney: £564,912
William Buick with Andrew Balding
David Probert
(photo: timesonline)
As I write this Buick is currently under suspension and Probert has one last chance to ride the single winner that would see him crowned as Champion Apprentice for season 2008.
The significance of this for Australia lay in the fact that at the conclusion of the flat racing season in England David Probert will be coming to Australia to have a stint with Tony Noonan at Mornington.
Buick will head to Dubai to ride for Dhubra Selvaratnam.
Both apprentices are attached to the stable of Andrew Balding. Probert is the son of a Welsh saddler and lives on the Baldings’ Kingsclere property - while Buick is the son of a former champion jockey in Scandinavia and lives with his father off the property.
The two apprentices are friends off the track, but the competitive juices see them ultra competitive on race days.
William Buick is already further established as a jockey having outridden his claim last May and has ridden his first Group Race winner in the Group Three St Simon Stakes at Newbury on Buccellati
Andrew Balding sums up the attributes and potential of both apprentices:
“There's a little bit of the Lewis Hamilton about William. He can push the safety boundaries. Riders sometimes find him a bit too competitive, but he has ridden very responsibly this year. David has had his share of bans this year, but some of that is down to the stewards teaching him a lesson.”
“David is not a strong, aggressive rider but he has a great awareness of pace. At the start of the year he had only ridden one winner from about 50 rides. He has taken time to get the hang of it but he is more of a natural horseman that William. In my opinion, William has everything. Hopefully that will come to David in time.”
David Noonan trained a winner over the Flemington Carnival with Beaming on Oaks Day (Thursday) in the Crown Promenade Sprint (1100m). The stable was desperately unlucky on Melbourne Cup Day (Tuesday ) when Jacqueline Rouge failed by a nose after racing wide.
These comments from Andrew Balding (published in RACENEWSonline on July 10th 2008) would explain the connection between he and David Noonan - and why the opportunity has arisen for David Probert :
“I’m so pleased for the owners Peter and Jennifer McMahon. They’ve got four horses with me. He ran really well in the Britannia and it was taking a bit of a punt because they have been over from Melbourne, Australia for a month and I haven't had a winner for them since they have been over. So we were rolling the dice a little bit with the cheekpieces and stepping up in trip but it worked.
“I know them through Tony Noonan, who bought their horses for them. He trains in Melbourne and has been a friend of mine for years and he introduced us.
“David’s a very handy 7lb apprentice. He’s got a cool head, he’s neat and tidy, and horses run for him. His father is a farrier in Wales and David has probably been with us for two and a half years. He’s a very similar make and shape to William (Buick) - very light young lad but a very good horseman and a very good rider.
David Probert
(minimum riding weight) 7-5
wins: 50
rides: 438
total prizemoney: £336,808
William Buick
(minimum riding weight) 7-12
wins: 50
rides: 545
total prizemoney: £564,912
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