Jess Taylor landed the 500th win of her career on Sunday, and it was in familiar territory when guiding the Joe Cleary-trained Kiss The Colours ($18) to victory in the 1000m Maiden Plate at the Sapphire Coast.
Leading all the way on the three-year-old meant it was a comfortable enough victory as Taylor celebrated another milestone.
The Central Coast-based jockey, who rides out of Warwick Farm, knew she was close to bringing up 500 winners, but it wasn’t a specific goal she was working towards.
“I hadn’t really thought about it,” Taylor said.
“I read something in the paper about being on 495 and knew it was coming up, and Theresa (Bateup) told me at Wagga that I was on 499.
“Still, it’s good to bring it up a nice feeling, that’s for sure.”
When asked if there were another 500 winners in the 32-year-old, Taylor didn’t think so.
“I doubt that,” Taylor laughed.
“I will keep doing what I’m doing at the moment, but I’m studying an accounting course online, and I will eventually transition out of racing, but for now, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”
Commencing her career with Albert Stapleford, Taylor eventually finished her apprenticeship with Warwick Farm trainer Mark De Montfort.
Most recently, Taylor has enjoyed success with Theresa Bateup, bringing up 72 winners for the Kembla Grange trainer, and she explained that’s why she has grown so fond of the Sapphire Coast, where she has booted home 48 of her 500 victories.
“Theresa has been a big supporter of mine, and we’ve had a lot of luck, and she is the reason I started going down to the Sapphire Coast,” Taylor said.
“It was also good to get that winner for Joe Cleary; he has been another big supporter of mine, and when Theresa and I were looking at the stats, we noticed that I had my best strike rate with him.”
The popular jockey has enjoyed a consistent career since riding her first winner on the Carmen Murnane-trained Enz Of Time at Tuncurry-Forster in 2011.
After bringing up 50 winners in her first two seasons, Taylor has ridden at least 31 winners in a season since 2013/14, with a 66-win haul in 2018/19, her best season to date.
Taylor finished the 2022/23 season on a high, riding winners at Wyong, Gosford, Wagga, and the Sapphire Coast as she brought up 48 victories.
While she prepares to kick off another season at Wyong on Thursday, Taylor was thankful for the ongoing support and opportunities.
“It’s been going quite well, getting a couple of winners within the week and fortnight, and I’ve had a lot of support from good people,” Taylor said.
“They have made my career both successful and enjoyable.”
At Wyong, Taylor will jump aboard the Jarrod Austin-trained pair of Remus and Suprina and the Jason Coyle-trained Not That Easy.
For Wyong field, click here.
For Sapphire Coast results, click here.
