News

Premiership Battles Down To The Wire

28th Jul 2009

Racing Victoria - Media Release - Tuesday, 28 July 2009

In what is the most enthralling premiership battle in recent memory, champion jockeys Damien Oliver and Craig Williams head into tomorrow’s final metropolitan meeting of the 2008/09 racing season locked on 70 winners apiece.

The pair has traded places at the top of the metropolitan premiership table over the past couple of weeks with Oliver again drawing level with Williams courtesy of a double at Moonee Valley last Saturday.

Williams, winner of the last three premierships, has a full book of eight rides tomorrow while Oliver, a seven-time premiership winner, has six mounts.

The premiership battle has also added intrigue in the lead up to the Scobie Breasley Medal to be presented at the Victorian Thoroughbred Racing Awards presented by Tabcorp on Sunday 9 August. The Scobie Breasley Medal is voted upon by Racing Victoria Stewards after each metropolitan race meeting.

Of the 12 Metropolitan Jockeys Premierships decided since the inception of the Scobie Breasley Medal in 1996, only two jockeys have failed to win the coveted Premiership-Scobie double.

The race is also on for the Metropolitan Trainers Premiership with arch rival Hall of Famers Lee Freedman and David Hayes locked on 64 winners each. Freedman has just two runners at Betfair Park while Hayes has nine. Freedman and Hayes are both chasing their seventh metropolitan premiership.

In the Apprentice Jockey Premiership race, Nicholas Hall and Dean Holland are equal on 32 rides with Ibrahim Gundogdu trailing them by one (31). However Hall has only two rides tomorrow, Holland is suspended, while Gundogdu has a full book of eight rides and could yet steal the title.

In the event of a tie in any of the three categories, multiple winners will be declared.

Racing Victoria Limited (RVL) Chief Executive Officer Rob Hines will make a special presentation to all Premiership winners following the running of the last race at 4.30pm.

The details of the presentation are as follows:

WHAT: Metropolitan Premierships presentation

WHEN: Wednesday 29 July, 2009 - 4.45pm

WHERE: Mounting Yard - Betfair Park, Princess Highway, Springvale

WHO: Rob Hines, RVL Chief Executive Officer

• Premiership winning senior jockey (s)
• Premiership winning trainer (s)
• Premiership winning apprentice jockey (s)