Racing: What keeps Lance O'Sullivan going

By MIKE DILLON

Wanted: A champion to keep a champion interested. The requirement is for a champion racehorse to ensure Lance O'Sullivan remains part of the New Zealand racing scene.

As the Matamata jockey draws closer to the inevitability of overtaking Michael Walker's record of 182 winners in a season, the question of retirement comes into sharp focus.

After all, what more does he have to prove?

When he finally gets the six wins that will get him past the mark Walker set last year, O'Sullivan will have broken every jockey record in one season.

They include Bill Skelton's long-standing career total of 2156 and the fastest 100 wins in a season.

"I'll never retire while I'm on a champion," said O'Sullivan as he made the long drive to ride at the Hastings races yesterday.

"While there is a Mr Tiz, Horlicks or a Sunline to get on, I'll still be riding - no one would give up that opportunity."

He is non-committal about when he would give it away if there were no champion horse, but you get the impression it will be two years tops.

This current record clearly means a fair bit to him, but beyond that there is little incentive.

And O'Sullivan is doing it tough to chase Walker's mark.

Remarkably, he did not get offered one ride for Avondale on Wednesday.

He ended up on a handful of horses - for just one third - but only after a lot of ringing around. And he was offered only one ride for Ellerslie tomorrow - Hereshecomes.

There cannot be a better jockey to put on your horse than a champion chasing a record. But astonishingly, the telephone is silent.

"Yes, I'm as hungry as I can be, but I don't get offered a ride," said the mystified O'Sullivan.

"You have to do the hard yards chasing these records.

"The stakemoney, class of horse and track conditions make it tough."

Before you say that sounds a little precious, consider how many All Blacks have to play club rugby. None. Avondale on Wednesday was third-grade club rugby.

The pressure clearly takes its toll - O'Sullivan was noticeably edgy after failing to ride a winner that day.

Motivation separates the over-achievers from the also-rans. Lester Piggott had millions, but his killer instinct was so strong that he would not let the postie beat him to the street corner on a bike.

The incentive was there for the rest of this season when a Wellington-based racing journalist said on air in January that the jockey had no chance of overtaking Michael Walker's record.

O'Sullivan was unmoved, but the comment fired up his manager, Stu Laing.

"It didn't worry me, but Stu was worked up over it and he really knuckled down to make sure it happened," O'Sullivan said.

He has 15 northern meetings where he can achieve the six wins, and seven or eight in the lower North Island if necessary.

That should create a comfort zone, but Laing has cancelled his planned three-week Australian holiday with O'Sullivan's brother, Paul, to stay home and ensure the right rides are secured.

Suspension or injury look to be the only things that can stand in O'Sullivan's way.

"A lot of people are talking about Lance getting 200 wins for the season, but that's never been our target," said Laing yesterday.

"The 183 is our only goal and Lance should make that."

Laing said it took a huge number of phone calls to land the seven rides O'Sullivan has at Ellerslie tomorrow.

"But they've all got a chance to win, with Indiarma, Lowella Grace, Hereshecomes and Kanton strong prospects."