Racing: King of the Saddle Opie Bosson returns to Ruakākā

Opie Bosso. Photo / Facebook, Te Akau Racing

The king of the saddle is back at Ruakākā today but he could be in for a very different reign this season.

Punter’s hero Opie Bosson returns from his winter break with a handy book of rides including Dragon Leap in the main sprint where he will carry a 62kg, which will be a lot more comfortable for the jockey than the horse.

Bosson turned 43 recently and while his riding weight was more stable last season he will have spent plenty of time in the bath both last night and this morning before he heads north, shedding the last excess kilos.

“It is always hard coming back in winter,” admits Bosson.

“I rode trackwork this morning [Friday] and didn’t have a drop of sweat on me because it was so cold, which doesn’t make it easy to lose weight.

“I have been training hard at the gym and rode 15 at the trials on Tuesday and felt good, so the body is ready.”

Bosson starts the new season with a rare challenger in Michael McNab, who has not only won the last two jockey’s premierships but ridden more black-type winners in New Zealand in the past two years than Bosson.

McNab’s new levels of dedication have seen him close the gap on Bosson and their battles this season can only be good for thoroughbred racing as it looks for superstars to be the face of the coming racing renaissance.

But Bosson may not be around to go head to head with McNab every Saturday this spring because Te Akau are opening a Victorian stable and their No 1 jockey is likely to cross the Tasman for some of the meetings they have serious horses in.

“It sounds like I will be riding Imperatriz over there and I’d like to ride Skew Wiff, who trialled well on Tuesday and can be a tricky horse to ride,” he told the Herald.

“I don’t know often I will be heading over there but I am looking forward to the new challenge.”

As well as riding winners and staying healthy Bosson has another goal: with 90 group 1 wins next to his name, he wants to get to 100, which could take at least two more seasons.

“We will see how the body holds together. Sometimes on a cold winter morning it [race riding] doesn’t feel like the best idea, but it will warm up soon.”

Dragon Leap and Cakebytheocean are rated Bosson’s two best rides at Ruakākā today. Further south, the Grand National carnival gets under way at Riccarton.

West Coast looks set to dominate the steeplechases over the next week as he tries to defend the Koral and Grand National titles he won last season but the rest of the Riccarton card looks open and punters should be able to find value, even in the $110,000 Winter Cup where Justaskme in a warm favourite.

The carnival has undergone a major change with the traditional races today but the GN Hurdle is no longer on Wednesday, which will be a synthetic track meeting. Both Grand Nationals will be run next Saturday.