With the Autumn Carnival upon us I’ve had quite a lot of requests for the updated jockey lists, so you can get the inside information on who’s hot and who’s not.

Jockeys, like all elite sportsmen, are human and they are all going to make errors, but the jockeys that make the least errors are the ones you should focus your betting money on.

It’s also worth noting that if you know your form, and view the tapes objectively, there are some boys and girls out there riding in fine form who just don’t get the rides the top guys get, and its often these jockeys that you can get a significant edge in supporting

Let’s have a look at some of the jockeys below with their most recent 30-day and 90-day stats, as well as my rating for each jockey based on the genuine errors a rider will make. For example 3w from barrier 1,2 ) is an obvious and easy one. There is also a Rides Win Races column, this is quite rare these days, but some are still winning on horses that shouldn’t win based on their tactical nous.

Who’s Hot and Worth Following

Name 30 days 90 Days Genuine Errors per 100 Rides Win Races per 100 Comment
J McDonald 7 from 65 – 10.7% 29 from 191- 15.2% 10 7 18% this season.
A very good rider and possibly our best overall.
Doesn’t ride too light though and rides most of the Ferrari’s.
H Bowman 8 from 58- 13.7% 35 from 147- 23.8% 14.2 8 21% this season.
A high-profile jockey.
Fact remains when in Winx Season he’s not as effective.
But like a few on the list is in the Top 20 in the world.
The longer they go the better he is.
T Berry 12 from 88- 13.6% 34 from 210- 16.2% 20 4 12% this season.
Riding lots of winners at present since returning.
Still makes lots of errors when he shouldn’t is his only downside.
K McEvoy 9 from 65- 13.8% 22 from 182- 12% 11.1 5 13% this season.
Always consistent but rarely slaughters one.
Can bet up with confidence when he’s on board .
Rides more lightweight horses than some of the big names so the stats are better than they are on paper.
T Clark 11 from 72 – 15.2% 20 from 162- 12.3% 14.2 11 15% this season.
Currently riding in career best form.
Reminds me of Nash Rawiller the way he has won some recent races.
His stats are good but his most effective when up on the speed controlling.
J Collett 10 from 51- 19.6% 30 from 209- 14.3% 20 4 12% this season
Hot the last 30 days thanks to a big Canberra Cup Day.
Still very one dimensional for mine in that his deadly and has an amazing sense of timing when on back-markers and stayers.
When he has to ride them forward or tactical can sometimes be found out.
There’s no better rider coming from behind and no braver rider who will put them through a gap where one doesn’t exist.
B Avdulla 12 from 71- 16.9% 19 from 135- 14% 10 11 18% this season.
The same strike rate as McDonald and co. but for mine you can double this as he rides a lot of longer priced horses and lightweight horses.
If he has to ride less than 53kg he’s proven a few times he isn’t as efficient.
But you had someone riding for your life it would be him.
He wins more races than any other jockey by winning races he wouldn’t have a chance in.
His smarts, tactics and his consistency are amazing.
None stronger in a finish bar the great man Nash Rawiller
J Parr 10 from 48- 20% 20 from 87- 23% 16.6 2 17% this season.
Was just a run-of-the-mill jockey but in the last 4 to 6 months he’s getting more opportunities and boy is he taking them.
Stats-wise he is on fire and if he could get rid of the poorly timed ride, and the horse caught 3 and 4 wide from barrier 2, he would be up competing with Bowman, Mcdonald, Mcevoy and Avdulla.
However, currently back him with confidence but know he can occasionally still ride a Barry Crocker. The way he interviews pre and post race he could be a challenger for the “Nicest Bloke in the World” title.
A Hyeronimus 9 from 56- 16% 23 from 155- 14 % 20 4 13% this season.
He’s gone from being a one-dimensional rider to really improving out of sight the last 12 months.
He still gets caught in the odd speed dual but has certainly improved.
C Brown 4 from 51- 7.8% 13 from 162- 8% 20 2 10% this season.
Struggling this season but gets plenty of rides.
As a lightweight he’s another with raw stats that aren’t as bad as they seem. He’s decent in a staying race where timing is key, but not good in a finish or tactically as some others.
G Schofield 6 from 49- 12% 18 from 144- 12% 16.6 8 12% this season.
A strange one that seems like a lot of trainers are using as an educator of horses, which affects his chances.
Can ride some amazing races that not many can.
However, now his effectiveness is not what it was thanks to his rides. One big negative is he rarely outrides his SP.
B Shinn 16 from 64-25% 23 from 103- 23% 12.5 2 19% this season.
Has been on absolute fire since returning.
Still makes odd decisions and does get out-ridden often.
Has great hands and can “kid” to a horse and make them think they’re doing better than they are.
When he draws inside he’s twice as potent than when he gets a tricky draw and it gets tactical.
His effective especially on stayers and sprinters.
C Reith 3 from 56- 5.4% 14 from 142- 9.9% 20 3 11.6% this season.
The last month has been tough for him but that seems to coincide with him riding back in town.
Prior to that he was working hard and riding the provincial meets and was on fire, but he lacks confidence now.
If he rode in the provincials consistently he would be in the top 2 of that area and dominate.
An above average rider but he’s hot and cold and at the moment he is getting colder.
A Atkins 1 from 41- 2.4% 4 from 71- 5.6% 25 1 6.3% this season.
Must be getting poor advice as he often gets outridden and is making basic errors in town.
He needs to ride in the bush and get his confidence back up.
I can’t back his mounts in town personally, but he would really improve if he rode away from town because he gets handled too many times.
K Ohara 5 from 33- 15% 14 from 106- 13% 25 1 8.5% this season.
Kathy has been going well for the past 90 days despite a poor season.
Again another who gets lots of also ran rides which doesn’t help her stats but at present going well
G Ryan 20 from 65- 31% 42 from 154- 27% 12.5 4 22% this season.
The King of the Bush.
Has been on fire recently and he gets his pick of most races.
Although he’s been riding exceptionally well he has made some bizarre decisions that may burn your pocket.
A Gibbons 17 from 95- 18% 39 from 234- 17% 9 7 17% this season.
Like Avdulla and McEvoy, Gibbons rides lightweights so his stats are even better than they look.
The most consistent for glaring errors in NSW so as a punter you are given a good run for your money on his mounts.
Because of his dominance they can come up shorter than they should when betting early.
If C Reith and Atkins came back they would give him some real competition. but Lots of Gibbons mounts ex Lees horses outperform their SP and a sure sign of a good rider
J Ford 5 from 78- 6% 16 from 204- 7.8% 20 1 8.9% this season.
Had a real purple patch there for a while getting some plum Waller lightweights.
Is another who rides lots of also rans due to his weight.

As you can see these are our top jockeys in New South Wales, but one thing that you need to be aware of is some jockeys are natural lightweights whereas others can only ride 55kg and above. In the general scheme of things if you ride more top weights you ride the better horses. This means you should have the better results where the jockeys who ride very light end up riding out of their grade.

The last 30 days we have some very hot riders in high confidence and good form in terms of winning rides. The last 90 days is a fairer estimate of long-term ability and form, but for me as a punter I want to focus on the guys who make the least number of mistakes. They give you the best chance of a collect and those same riders are also capable of pulling a race out of thin air and winning when they had no chance.

Hopefully this might help you with your bets when deciding on who to back at the upcoming Autumn Carnival.

Cheers,

Luke Murrell.

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