Warren Kennedy rides Crocetti to victory in the 2000 Guineas.
Don’t expect the jockey who would be king to be wearing his new crown for years to come.
Premiership winner Warren Kennedy says his priorities will be changing in the new season.
The 44-year-old South African will officially win the title of our premier jockey when the thoroughbred racing season ends at Tauranga today. Kennedy is going into the meeting on 139 wins, 15 clear of two-time defending champion Michael McNab.
Punters were denied a grandstand finish to the premiership when McNab was injured in a race fall last month while seemingly having the momentum. However, Kennedy says if he had been beaten, so be it.
“I take things in my stride and if Michael had beaten me he would have deserved it,” says Kennedy.
“But he didn’t and even when he drew level I didn’t change anything.
“I have won two premierships before [in South Africa] and that experience helps you stay level-headed.
“And with the final number I am going to put up, Michael would have had to ride a lot of winners from the time we were level to beat me.”
Kennedy says there is no boasting in that statement, just Warren being Warren: matter-of-fact, seeing things for what they are.
It is another reason he has proven so popular with New Zealand trainers since he and wife Barb, herself a trainer, arrived here less than two years ago.
The trainers love the detailed post-race, or even trial, feedback from somebody so experienced - even if Kennedy admits he is sometimes a little blunt.
“Most of the riding I was doing in South Africa was on horses ready to go to the races so you could get a real feel for the developed version of them.
“Here, sometimes you are sitting on horses having an early prep or a first trial and I’ve told trainers they didn’t feel much good only to see it win a race four or five months later,” he laughs.
That bluntness and his early tangles with the stipes (“I know that they are looking at more now”) have been Kennedy’s only real speed humps on the road from unknown to premier jockey.
“I am proud of what I have accomplished because I don’t think too many jockeys would have turned up in a country where they knew nobody and nobody had heard of them and won the premiership in their first full season riding.
“I have had some great support from trainers and owners and people like Daniel Nahkle, who helped get me over here.”
So what was it like starting from scratch as a two-time national champion?
“It was a strange experience and I remember going to the races the first time here and guys like Opie (Bosson) and Vinnie (Colgan) making an effort to come talk to me.
“Once everybody sees those guys accepting me so early they were sort of the same. But it takes time to build up connections.”
Kennedy says he can see improvement in the New Zealand jockeys ranks and our best jockeys are outstanding.
“The top five or six jockeys here would be good jockeys anywhere in the world,” he says.
“But what I have noticed is the difference in that next bunch.
“Those next group of jockeys on the premiership have improved a lot in just two years and the gap between those top five or six and them has closed a fair bit.
“There are a lot more jockeys now who you’d feel comfortable following in a race.”
Kennedy says he will spend less time following other jockeys next season as he expects to ride less and won’t prioritise winning the premiership now that box has been ticked.
“I want to help Barb more with her team, which has grown really quickly and pay her back for being so supportive of my premiership goals.
“And I want to do my best to help Cambridge Stud with their team of horses because Brendan and Jo Lindsay have supported me so much.
“So I don’t think I’ll head to the South Island as much, probably only for the biggest meetings and I won’t be starting the season trying to win the title again.
“But if I am in contention around April I might change that focus.” A bigger priority is winning major races on stars like Crocetti, who could even race in Australia with the A$10 million Golden Eagle a tempting target.
“Even if he did go there I wouldn’t be pressuring them for the ride because I’d be a greenhorn in Australia. But of course I’d love to go if he does.
“Australia is still a place I’d love to raid if I get the chance but we are not thinking at all about moving there.”
South Africa’s loss is also Australia’s loss. And very much New Zealand racing’s gain.