A winning treble at Scone on Tuesday only added to an excellent start to June and 2022/23 season for apprentice jockey Reece Jones.
Indentured to Peter and Paul Snowden, Jones kicked off the month with a Rosehill Gardens double before wins at Muswellbrook and Hawkesbury.
At Scone, Jones was in fine fettle, winning on the Richard and Will Freedman-trained Silent Russian ($4.80) in the 1300m Maiden Handicap before bringing up a running double on the Tracey Bartley-trained Dresden ($6) in the 1700m Benchmark 58 Handicap.
In a fitting result, the 27-year-old won for his former boss and mentor, Rodney Northam, guiding Leggy Point ($4.80) to a comfortable six-length win in the 1300m Benchmark 58 Handicap.
Jones, who spent his formative years in Scone, said he loves returning to his old stomping grounds.
“I enjoy going back to Scone, and I think I’m leading the premiership there this season, and it is a goal of mine to win that,” Jones said.
“Both Scone and Muswellbrook are good places to ride, and I get good support there from my connections.
“It was good to ride a few winners at Scone too, and especially one for Rod.”
Leggy Point certainly made an impression on Jones and Northam, with the three-year-old comfortably bringing up her second career win at start number six.
“She’s nice, and I think the blinkers have switched her back on,” Jones said.
“Obviously, she enjoys the wet tracks, but I just thought she had been frustrating since she won her first race, but she put it all together and was far too good for them.
“She was quite impressive and put a massive margin on the rest of them, so it will be good to see how she goes on with it.”
Jones, who’s coming off back-to-back centuries, riding 103 winners in 2020/21 and 104 winners in 2021/22, has enjoyed similar success this season, with the apprentice booting home 74 winners.
With 322 wins next to his name, including three Group and Listed victories, a Group One placing, and many metropolitan wins, the sky’s the limit for Jones.
Still, his path to the races is less travelled, with the Port Macquarie product a late starter by apprentice standards, joining Northam’s yard as a 19-year-old in 2016.
A two-year journey to the track culminated in 2018, when the then 22-year-old won on debut, guiding Social to victory at Tamworth.
Jones basically learned his craft at Northam’s, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing, and after what was an excellent start to his career, in 2019, he fell awkwardly at trackwork when his saddle slipped and tore his ACL, MCL and LCL in his knee, forcing a 12-month lay-off.
He’s dealt with the odd injury since then but has continued to bounce back and prove to everyone that he is one of the state’s leading hoops.
Now based in Sydney and with his apprenticeship up in September, Jones wants to maintain his presence in the metropolitan ranks.
“That would be the goal,” Jones replied when asked if he planned to stay in town.
“Being a metro jockey, that is where the money is, and I’ve got a good lifestyle here, and I’ve bought a house, and I’m settled.”
Jones is part of an excellent crop of young NSW jockeys, including friends and rivals Dylan Gibbons, Tyler Schiller, Zac Lloyd, and up-and-coming apprentices Jett Stanley, Jasper Franklin, and Molly Bourke.
“It’s a changing of the baton type thing,” Jones said.
“We’ve got a good bunch of young fellas coming through, and we all want to solidify our position in the city.”
Jones gets every chance to add to his 28 metropolitan winners this season with a full book of rides on the 10-race card at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.
On a busy day, he will even ride a few country chances, hopping aboard the Northam-trained Pair of Jacenza ($13) in the 1200m Class Three Highway Handicap and Steplee ($31) in the 2000m Benchmark 78 Handicap.
He’ll also ride the Gayna Williams-trained From The Bush ($26) in the 1300m Benchmark 78 Handicap, along with bookings for Metropolitan and Provincial trainers.
“I tell you what, taking ten rides, it’s not as bad as it might look, but when the day’s done, it’s quite exhausting,” Jones said.
“You’ll finish the day and not have much energy for anything else, but while doing it, and weighing in and getting ready for your next ride, you’re so busy that you don’t think about it.”
Before his big day in the city, Jones heads to Goulburn on Friday for two rides.
For Scone results, click here.
For Goulburn fields, click here.
For Rosehill Gardens fields, click here.
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