Lightweight apprentice jockey Willis makes Callaghan Park debut

Young lightweight Deagon-based apprentice jockey Shania Willis will experience Rockhampton’s Callaghan Park for the first time on Tuesday and could have a full book of rides for her local debut.

The 20-year-old who tips the scales at just 48kg has six mounts and hopes to fill the book before race day.

Apprenticed to veteran trainer Pat Duff, Willis’ most recent win was for her master at Toowoomba last Saturday night, riding 3YO Viking Valour to an easy victory.

Being light she finds herself in some demand with her rides over the weekend including mounts at the Gold Coast and Toowoomba on Saturday and at the Sunshine Coast on Sunday.

“My jockey manager Ryan Crawford found me the rides in Rockhampton and I’m very much looking forward to riding at the track for the first time,” Willis said. The apprentice’s Rockhampton bookings for Tuesday include Breaker Breaker in the Maiden Plate (1400m), My Pepperjack (2 & 3YO Handicap), and Leica Bita Fun (BM58 Handicap 1400m) for Gladstone trainer Dennis Schultz; Rubunkar (Class 3 Plate (1050m) for Tom Bourke, and Latin Love (Maiden 1050m) and D’Esprit (Class 1 Handicap 1200m) for Rob Stenhouse.

Willis has been riding for a couple of seasons and has chalked up around 52 winners.

Not from a racing family, it’s like Willis has been here before.

“Oddly enough for as long as I can remember I knew I was going to be a jockey,” she said. “I think I was about 4 years old when I first started telling people that’s what I was going to be.”

After participating in showjumping and other horse events as a child the diminutive Willis, originally from Melbourne, commenced working with racehorses at trainer Cindy Alderson’s Cranbourne stables before moving to the Sunshine Coast hinterland at Woodford when her parents decided to relocate around four years ago. At Woodford, she met trainer Gordon Hay, who was training horses on his private track. She also initially sought guidance from former champion Queensland apprentice Myles Plumb and Racing Queensland’s Senior Apprentice Coach, former champion jockey Shane Scriven.

Willis hopes to be a regular in the Callaghan Park form guides. “Ä lot of jockeys fly in and out of Rocky from down here and my manager and I think I will benefit from doing it too, hopefully, I can get a winner or two to start me off on Tuesday”, Willis said.

David Aldred, RJC CEO