Michael Wade is close to returning to the saddle, with the amateur jockey locked in to ride at Yass on Saturday, February 24.
The 27-year-old is undoubtedly a talent, but a chequered past, highlighted by a lengthy suspension and issues with weight, means he hasn’t lived up to his potential.
A winner of 17 races, Wade triumphed in his first at Geurie in 2018, riding the Connie Greig-trained Lakota Sioux to victory in the Geurie Picnic Cup.
Booting home seven winners in both 2017/18 and 2018/19, Wade had his chances while riding trackwork in Hawkesbury, but since then, he’s only ridden three winners, and he hasn’t been seen at the races since late 2022 when riding at the Queanbeyan replacement meeting.
Now in Canberra, working primarily for Rob Potter and riding work for John Nisbet, John Rolfe, and Norm Gardner, Wade said he is enjoying his new surroundings.
“I’ve been in Canberra for the last few weeks, just doing trackwork full-time, and I’ve been working on getting back into the picnic circuit,” Wade told NSW Country and Picnic Racing.
“Rob is the main bloke I’m working for, but I’m riding for a few others, and things have been really good.
“I was in Hawkesbury for a long time, then went from Hawkesbury to Rosehill, and I spent a bit of time at Wild Oaks, which is a pre-training joint, and went back to Hawkesbury, and I wasn’t enjoying it there and needed a change.
“My good mate is Jimmy (James) Innes Jnr, and I got in touch with him, and he suggested moving to Canberra, so I packed everything up, and life’s been good here.”
Wade made no secret of his history and was apologetic to those who have helped him over the years, but with the support of veteran picnic jockey Ricky Blewitt, Wade said he is back on the straight and narrow and ready to make his mark at the picnics.
“Obviously, I got suspended for a positive swab, and I let myself down and everyone else that was supporting me down,” Wade said.
“Then I was meant to come back August last year but got kicked in the leg and broke my ankle, so that was another setback, but it came good, and when I was right, I got the licence back, and over the last couple of months, I’ve been riding a lot of working and have been thinking about dusting off the old racing saddle.
“I’ve always been in touch with Ricky Blewitt, and we get along really well, and he told me to get back out there, and that’s the plan, and to just have a bit of fun doing it.”
While his weight blew out when he had time off for injury, Wade said getting off the grog and working hard has seen him drop the kilos.
“Mentally and physically, I’m just in a better place,” Wade said.
“I was the heaviest I’ve been when I had the broken ankle, and I couldn’t do much, but once I started riding work, I lost the weight and kept it around 70kg.
“Getting off the alcohol made a massive difference, and within a couple of weeks, I had dropped another 6kg.
Wade won’t ride at Condobolin on Saturday but has already booked a ride for Yass and will look to build on his momentum from there.
“I feel like I made a quick example of what I can do when I first rode that winner of Connie’s when I first started, and then I got a few good rides and outrode my claim pretty quick,” Wade said.
“Then I just let everyone down, and everything went downhill, but I know it’s time to pull the finger out and give it a good go.
“I will be back at Yass and ride at Crookwell, and once I am back into it, I’ll try and go everywhere I can.”
Michael Wade can be contacted for rides on 0448 774 408.
The focus is now on the NSW picnic scene at Condobolin, which will host a bumper six-race program on Saturday when making a welcome return to racing.
In exciting news, Izzy Neale will have her first ride there. Readers can click here for the whole story.
For more on the Picnic Champion Series, click here.
For the 2024 NSW Picnic Racing calendar, click here.
