Racing in Britain and Ireland may remain under suspension owing to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, however racing, both on the level and over obstacles, has continued behind closed doors in Australia.
It was there that Irish jockey Shane Jackson recorded the biggest success of his career when landing the Grand Annual Steeplechase at Warrnambool on Tuesday morning.
Last year’s leading rider over jumps in Australia, who rode three winners during four seasons between the flags in Ireland before joining the professional ranks, was aboard Ablaze for joint-trainers Ciaran Maher and David Eustace for the feature race at his local course in the south-west of the country.
The eight-year-old ultimately ran out a wide-margin winner in the A$315,000 contest, getting the better of Gold Medals by eight lengths.
What a race. Gold Medals late, Zed Em was brave but Ablaze was simply too good, your 2020 Grand Annual winner. 🙠#TheBool @cmaherracing @wboolracingclub pic.twitter.com/oAbhNuv5Fx
— Racing.com (@Racing) May 5, 2020
“It was a great thrill to win the race that I’ve wanted to win since I moved over here,” Jackson said when speaking to After The Last on Racing.com.
“I’ve sat on horses for long enough and he was a little horse that I had an awful lot of confidence in.
“He was a bit sticky over a few early on which I thought he might be, but I just let him get into a rhythm and he grew with confidence every jump he me.
“I was confident a long way from home that I was going to be the one to beat unless something out of the ordinary happened.
“He’s going to be a force to be reckoned with over the next couple of seasons.”
The success formed part of a double for the Wicklow native, and it brings his tally to 74 winners in the country since the 33-year-old emigrated from Ireland in 2012 with his wife Lauren, who was videoed cheering him on from home with their son Joey.
You little ripper! Emotional scenes as Lauren and Joe Jackson cheer home Dad, Shane Jackson in the Grand Annual. 🙠#TheBool @wboolracingclub @jackson_sw pic.twitter.com/3BaGUTVWBe
— Racing.com (@Racing) May 5, 2020
There was one sting for Jackson as the stewards at Warrnambool fined him $300 for breaching Covid-19 protocols by shaking hands with assistant trainer Declan Maher.
Elsewhere, Limerick native Billy Gleeson was in the wars on the card, as the son of point-to-point handler John, who has ridden four winners between the flags before turning professional in Australia last month, suffered a broken right tibia and fibula in a fall in the Brierly Steeplechase.
