A winning four-race haul at Tauranga on Saturday added further lustre to an outstanding 2023/2024 racing season for jockey Sam Spratt.
The success took her to 64 wins for the year including eight at stakes level although the bubbly 39-year-old is quick to point out statistics and goals have never been the priority in her career.
“Some people are driven by achieving goals and the like but that really has never been my thing,” Spratt said.
“I ride for the sheer love of horses which is pretty evident in my whole life as when I’m not riding on race day one of my biggest passions is going riding at hunt meetings on the weekends and when I have time off.
“I actually took the day off to go hunting today (Sunday) but the weather put the kibosh on that as it was just torrential rain in Auckland early this morning.
“I guess that has given me some time to get out in the garden and do a few things around the house which is also a nice way to unwind after the pressure of race day.”
While Spratt is philosophical about her success this year, she is thankful for the opportunities to ride some very nice horses over the last twelve months.
“It’s been a really good season, and I definitely can’t complain as it is probably one of the best of my career,” she said.
“It helps when you have the right horsepower underneath you and I’ve picked up some lovely rides along the way.
“Remarkably I’m pretty much injury free after breaking my ankle a few years ago as you don’t tend to bounce as much when you are older if you do take a tumble and thankfully that hasn’t happened this year.
“I do have some long-term niggles that I have learnt to manage but touch wood, they are under control, and I can stay healthy for the foreseeable future.”
While she may not pay much attention to career goals Spratt does have a number in the back of her mind she would like to achieve.
“When I got to 1000 wins for my career (currently 1059) someone said to me I didn’t have far to go to get to 100 stakes wins,” she said.
“It kind of registered and although I don’t actively chase it, that is something that would be nice to have on my record when I do finally hang up the boots.
“I think I’m around the 97-mark in that respect and with some of the promising horses I have ridden this year I think I might be able to get there in the new season with some luck.
“It’s normally at this time of the year that people start looking towards the spring and what will be happening, and I know many of the potential spring stars are just in the early stages of their preparation.
“I will keep tabs on them and see how things play out but for the time being I’m looking forward to a bit of a break in July to go hunting (riding more horses) and just taking each day as it comes.”
