Journeyman Kody Nestor is leaving no stone unturned during his most recent stint as a jockey.
The 32-year-old, who’s based in Warners Bay these days, has been seen in every NSW racing association, bringing up wins at Tamworth, Parkes, Tuncurry, Gunnedah, and Wellington in May along with victories at Dubbo, Coonamble, and Taree in June.
Nestor, who was at Tuncurry on Saturday, heads to Mudgee on Sunday and Wyong on Tuesday, and he explained that it suited him to travel and keep busy during the winter months.
“At this time of year, I don’t mind travelling and racing a lot because I don’t like doing track work when it’s so cold,” Nestor laughed.
“Plus, the travel is part and parcel of it, and being in Newcastle, it’s a bit better to travel up here.
“Most trips are pretty easy; those long ones to Dubbo and Coffs (Harbour) knock you around, but I used to do it before, and I find if I’m riding four to five times a week, it keeps my weight in tow a lot better.
“If I only ride once or twice a week, especially during winter, I’d find it a lot harder with my weight.”
Nestor has made a welcome return to the riding ranks, and while still reasonably young, he’s enjoyed a storied career as a jockey and trainer.
In the 2000s, he was a boom apprentice after kicking off his career in 2006, and in the 2010s, he was one of the most consistent country jockeys in the state, riding 70-plus winners in the 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons.
Nestor soon turned his hand to training, setting up shop in Dubbo and bringing up 107 winners from just 673 runners at an impressive 15.9 per cent strike rate between 2018 and 2021.
Still, an ‘itch’ could not be ignored, and Nestor soon gave up training before returning to the saddle.
The popular hoop even brought up his 600th career winner at Dubbo on June 9, riding the Brett Robb-trained Press Forward to victory.
Nestor explained why he returned to riding after taking a break from training in 2021.
“I think I got a bit of an itch to come back into the industry and start riding again,” Nestor said.
“I didn’t want to go back into training straight away; it’s a 24/7 job and a different league altogether compared to being a jockey.
“When you’re training, you’re on the phone and travelling, and it’s a full-time gig, whereas with riding, when I’m riding four to five times a week, as soon as I get home, I knock off and just relax.”
Nestor will train again one day, but he won’t be rushing back into the full-time training ranks anytime soon.
“I am thinking about applying for a dual trainer/jockey licence, and I will return to training full-time a little further down the line,” Nestor said.
“I enjoy riding, and even when I was training, I enjoyed the gallops, but for now, I’m happy to focus on being a jockey.”
While off from riding, Nestor’s weight blew out a bit. Still, stripping the weight wasn’t a massive issue for him, and he even admitted to purposely coming back a little heavier.
“When I was training, I used to walk around 74-75kg, but the weights are different these days, and I used to ride at 55-56kg, but with the country benchmark system, I only ride 58kg and 59kg, and that’s helped me,” Nestor said.
“I walk around at 59.5kg and 60kg, so I don’t have to strip a lot.”
Nestor and Crockett team up at Mudgee
Nestor will look to continue his good recent run when he teams up with Cameron Crockett at Mudgee on Sunday, taking three rides for the Scone stable.
“He’s going well, and he’s a good trainer,” Nestor said.
“Cam comes from a great family, and I used to ride for Max (Crockett) when he was alive.
“I’ll pop over when I can and do a gallop for him and a few jump-outs, and he’s got a nice bunch of horses.”
In what are his only rides on the day, he jumps aboard Goonoo (gate 17) in the 1200m Country Boosted Maiden Plate, Competition (gate 1) in the 1500m Country Boosted Class Two Handicap, and Jet Pack (gate 15) in the 1200m Benchmark 66 Handicap.
“I like the maiden horse (Goonoo), but I don’t know if he is there yet with it being his first start, but I’ve worked him a couple of times, and he goes all right,” Nestor said.
“The draw might make it hard too, but he’ll definitely turn into something down the track.
“Competition had a solid run at Dubbo the other day and got back off the pace and kept coming, and from the soft draw, we should be able to pozzy (position) up and find a nice spot in the run.
“Jet Pack ran at Dubbo the other day but lacked a killer punch after a nice run outside of the leader, and I thought he was entitled to finish off a touch better, but Cam has done a bit of work on him and said he will be ready to go on Sunday.”
Sunday’s meeting at Mudgee complements a good day of country racing in NSW, with the Grafton July carnival also kicking off in the Northern Rivers.
For Mudgee fields, click here.
For Grafton fields, click here.
