In Brief
- Fitness no issue for tireless jockey.
- Premiership results a reward for work behind the scenes.
- Jockey has picked out a few from the trials.
Sunday week cannot come quick enough for Brighton-based jockey Bulent Muhcu who has ridden at all five trial meetings since approval was given to run trials following the COVID shutdown of racing in the state.
Some riders may be using the trials to shake off some rust and return fitness levels but that hasn’t been the case for Muhcu who has been riding constantly at the Brighton training base.
“I don’t think I ever lost the fitness, I never stopped working,” Muhcu said.
“Based in Brighton I’ve been riding for Stephen Lockhart, Leon Wells, Stephen Shaw, Brendan McShane, Rhonda Hall… Pretty much for everyone.”
Sitting third on this season’s jockey Premiership table, the rewards have begun to come on the racetrack for Muhcu who is well known for his work behind the scenes.
Muhcu wins aboard White Hawk in Launceston in February this year.
“I’ve always been interested in working with the horse on the ground.
“I like training with them and understanding the horsemanship just as much as being a jockey,” said Muhcu who’s current tally of 33 winners for the season has improved on the 31 he had in 2018-19 despite having 14 less rides so far.
Speaking after the Devonport trials on Tuesday, Muhcu has been impressed by several horses he has ridden in the past fortnight and punters may gain a lead on their chances by who he sits aboard on race day given many of his recent trial runners may face each other.
“There are a few horses but most of them are going to clash with each other,” said Muhcu when asked about some of his recent rides.
“Lago Approach, I trialled him at Launceston and he was really good.
“GeeGee Libys Clang he trialled really good at Hobart.
“Subtle Cross trialled well at Longford and Launceston.
“Gee Gees Wynett trialled really well at Hobart for Leon Wells.”
The last two months have been long for all concerned with the racing industry, but Muhcu has tried to stay positive even when the outlook may have appeared bleak.
“Rather than focus on the negative I tried to focus on the positive side of it because we were going to come back and race eventually,” Muhcu said.
The return date of 14 June is now well and truly within reach and it’s one that Muhcu is eagerly waiting for.
“Now we’re close it’s getting quite exciting.
“We’ve just realised how much we love racing”.
Watch the replay of Bulent Muhcu winning a recent trial on GeeGee Libbys Clang in Hobart.