Star South Australian rider Raquel Clark can reach 100 winners in a season for the first time if she wins the National Apprentices Challenge heat at Doomben.
Clark is sitting on 99 after a treble at Port Lincoln on Sunday.
A former Tasmanian rider now based in South Australia, Clark’s best effort to date was 98 wins last season.
She is apprenticed to leading Adelaide trainers Leon Macdonald and Andrew Gluyas and is currently second on the Adelaide metropolitan premiership, one win behind Jamie Kah who has moved to Victoria.
Clark has been allocated premier Brisbane trainer Tony Gollan’s horse Dream Kisses in the Apprentices Challenge.
Gollan said he was happy to support the series and it was a bonus to draw Clark.
“She is a stakes-winning jockey and very experienced. Hopefully the weather holds but even if the track stays heavy, Dream Kisses has been placed four times on bog tracks,” Gollan said.
“To ride 100 winners in a season is a great achievement and it would be good to be part of it.”
Gollan will also have Wooshka in the race to be ridden by Tasmanian apprentice Teagan Voorham.
Victoria’s Teo Nugent has been allocated Tziporah for trainer Toby Edmonds while Western Australia’s Emma Stent will ride the Edmonds-trained Elusive Melody.
A full field of 13 has been declared for the race which carries $45,000 prize money.
