Vlad Duric, a Caulfield Cup-winning jockey and four-time Singapore premiership winner, is thrilled about the possibility of racing against his daughter, Sage. Duric, based in Brisbane since April, will move back to Victoria next week, targeting the early part of the spring carnival.
He acknowledges the competitiveness of Victorian racing but is optimistic about securing rides, especially with Sage soon starting her career. “I rode at 54.5kg, 55kg through the Brisbane Carnival,” Duric said. “If I can just ride at even half a kilo lighter and get down for those 54kg on a Saturday, I think that will really help me gain a little bit more traction.”
Duric is proud of Sage’s progress. “She’s going well. She’s improving all the time. She sits on well and she seems to be improving with her trial riding and she absolutely loves her racing. Her boss, Phillip Stokes, has been really good for her, he’s really helped her a lot and hopefully that transitions into her race riding. I’m just looking forward to her kicking off and seeing what she’s able to do.”
Duric returns in strong form, with 11 wins from his past 50 rides in Queensland, including a recent Stakes success on Xidaki in the G3 Winx Guineas.