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Chelsea Has Sights Set on Cracking 400 Winners
Jockey Chelsea Jokic is well on the way to another career milestone after continuing a great start to the year at Cluden Park on Saturday.
Jokic booted home winners Nev and roughie Castille and went down fighting with close seconds on Aidenabet and Kidston on the eight event card.
The weekend’s double and a winner in Mackay on January 3 have the Townsville-based jockey on 379 career winners and within striking distance of her target of hitting 400 winners by season’s end.
“It was a very good day,” the 2018 Townsville Cup winning jockey said.
“The double is a kick along for me. My target this season is to get to 400 career wins and the way things are going it’s within reach.”
To give herself every chance Jokic, who has a trainer-jockey license will be focusing on her riding only for the remainder of the season.
With her family dad Stefan, mum Fiona and brother Michael about to relocate to Victoria, Jokic is “staying in Townsville but won’t be training.
“To do it all on my own is just too much if I want to chase my riding opportunities,” Jokic said.
“So with the family leaving in a fortnight I won’t be training, just focusing on riding.
“I’ll still be here until I don’t want to ride anymore – pretty much the long haul.
“I’ve been having a lot of luck since I’ve come back over the past nine or 10 months since I had a hip arthroscopy in January last year in Brisbane.
“Things have gone pretty well for me and I’m getting good support from trainers.
“I ride 54kg pretty much all the time and that’s a big help to pick up a greater range of rides.”
Jokic went in to the day with high hopes for the Josh Manzelmann-trained two-year-old Nev and stablemate Aidenabet.
But she was pleasantly surprised with Castille’s return to form over his pet mile trip for young trainer Matthew McGuire.
“I thought Josh’s two were my best and they ran accordingly,” Jokic said.
“But the other horse Castille was a bit of a surprise that he was back to his best.
“He gets back and gets into his own rhythm and can fly home on his day.
“Kidston and Aidenabet were great. Kidston has developed a habit of missing the kick and he had to come from a long way back and had to come around them.
“The two-year-old Nev has really improved a lot.
“Today was obviously the ideal race for him. He’s just taken a little bit of time to work it all out and it was good to see him do everything right today and get a win.
“I rode him in his first start and he just didn’t know what he was doing but his last start in Mackay he showed he’s got the ability and just had to put it all together.”
Jokic also rode Kobayastar into an unlucky fourth to the in-form Kevin Hansen-trained Mimmy’s Secret after copping a bump that almost unseated her at the start.
Jockey Adrian Layt also bounced back into the Cluden winner’s list after storming home to win on the Wayne Winters-trained Mordecai.
Layt, who is planning to shift back to his native NSW in a fortnight for a three-month stint, produced one of the rides of the day to come from last on Mordecai to claim the win in the final few strides.