Few heavyweight jockeys can boast a better diversion to the grind of racing than Koby Jennings. When the demons of food deprivation and scant opportunity start to wear him down, the twenty five year old Victorian turns to the sea.
Koby looks at his five metre fibreglass fishing boat in much the same way he would look at a prized thoroughbred.
Sometimes he goes out with a mate on board, sometimes he goes alone. Sometimes he travels 50 kms off the coast to famous Brown’s Mountain, a seamount where the water is 6OO metres deep. Experienced fishermen have been flocking to this spot for many years. “It’s another world out there and a far better diversion than any golf course” says Koby.
Last week he couldn’t find time to indulge in his passion for fishing. On Sunday 10th he had two unplaced rides at Wyong, with three more at Kembla Grange on Tuesday 7th. He had two rides at Warwick Farm on the Wednesday with one of them finishing a close second. He made the long trek to Port Macquarie on Friday for four mounts, two of which won. Both were trained by his old friend Nathan Doyle.
Koby expected to have three rides at Randwick on Saturday but only Luvaluva faced the starter. The mare comfortably defeated Taikomochi and Mr. Garcia in the Listed January Cup at odds of $2.10 following on from her effortless win in the Group 3 Summer Cup on Boxing Day. “This is so typical of the racing game”, says the jockey. “Out of the blue I’ve got on a really lovely mare for John Sergeant to win two stakes races. She looks like going to New Zealand for a Gr 1 at Te Rapa and I can only hope I’ll get to go with her”.
Image courtesy of Bradley Photographers - Luvaluva was never going to lose the Summer Cup on Boxing Day.
You’ll often see jockeys nurse horses up the rise at Randwick, but Koby Jennings still hadn’t moved on Luvaluva until just inside the 200m. He lets them do their own thing as long as he can, before putting the foot to the floor. He’s a jockey of rare composure under pressure.
Koby’s racing career began in his native Traralgon where he was apprenticed to his grandfather John Kilgower. His father Troy has trained successfully in his own right for some years, while three uncles have also dabbled in the training business.
Koby is much relieved to see his father make a complete recovery from colon cancer last year. “He’s back on the job and looking forward to making up for lost time”, says the jockey.
Image courtesy of Bradley Photographers - Winners are grinners! Koby after winning the January Cup.
By his own admission, Koby was a slow starter requiring 35 rides to crack it for his first win. “I thought it might be a good idea to get away from home and fend for myself a bit”, he says. “My grandfather arranged for me to go on loan to Stephen Brown at Darwin where I stayed for 18 months. Steve is a very good trainer and an equally good tutor. I could feel myself getting better”.
Two fellow jockeys were instrumental in getting Koby to link up with Canberra trainer Mark Schmetzer. Carl Spry who was riding for Stephen Brown in Darwin was about to make the move to Canberra and suggested Koby should go with him.
Around the same time he met Shaun Guymer when they both contested an Invitation race at Alice Springs. Guymer was also attached to the Schmetzer stable and encouraged Koby to make the move if the necessary arrangements could be made.
After a happy and successful stint with Schmetzer, Jennings switched his indentureship to the Paul Jones/Barbara Joseph stable, learning more about horse management with every experience.
Next adventure was an enjoyable association with Kevin Moses who gave Koby many invaluable pointers on the art of riding thoroughbreds. The final stages of his apprenticeship were spent with experienced trainers Jim and Greg Lee at Randwick.
The young horseman expressed his gratitude to each and every tutor who had touched his life. “My grandfather, Stephen Brown, Mark Schmetzer, Paul Jones and Barbara Joseph, Kevin Moses, Jim and Greg Lee all contributed to my development as a jockey” he says. “They were wonderful years”.
Image courtesy of Bradley Photographers - Koby's day of days. Here he is after winning on Kellyville Flyer - One of four wins for the day at Rosehill 4/06/2016.
Towards the end of his apprenticeship Jennings enjoyed a day that will live with him for the rest of his life. He rode four winners on a Saturday metropolitan meeting at Rosehill Gardens, for four different stables. He scored on Ravi for the Snowdens, King’s Officer for Terry Robinson, Kellyville Flyer for Jason Attard, and So Willie for Chris Waller.
When he finally came out of his time, Koby took some time to adjust. “I got very confused for a while”, confessed Koby. “I didn’t know who to ride work for, or how to go about establishing stable support . With the help of my manager Josh Barrett I slowly got myself organised”.
Some of the horses to bring him under notice on metropolitan tracks were Distinctive Look, Niccolance, Quackerjack, Diplomatico, Bullrush, Tucanchoo, Plutorius and Mr. Entertainer. Worthy of special mention is Bobbing who came out of the blue to give young Jennings his most important win to date.
The slow maturing son of Beneteau had won four races before being set for the 2019 Provincial Championship. He was all set to run in the second qualifier at Newcastle when a throat infection forced his withdrawal. Trainer Bernie Kelly opted to miss the third qualifier at Kembla because he felt the horse needed a little more time. Koby got the call up to ride him in the final qualifier at Wyong on March 30th of last year and there was pressure all round. His fast finishing second to Turnberry got him into the $500,000 final a week later.
It’s now history that Bobbing came from second last in a fifteen horse field and started his run at the 600M. Despite being carried wide by Safado on the hometurn, the five year old stormed home to win the rich final and provide all connections with a fairy tale result.
Image courtesy of Bradley Photographers - Koby brings Bobbing with a booming run to win the Provincial Championship Final.
Bobbing hasn’t won in five starts since but was placed in the Kosciuszko and the The Hunter bringing in attractive prize money. Kelly elevated him to Group company at his final two starts of the preparation and he ran respectable races without getting into the placings.
Koby is currently riding regular trackwork for Mark Newnham at Warwick Farm and is getting good support from the emerging top trainer. In responding to my request for a quote Mark says “Koby has good hands and great balance. He is really starting to put it all together and could be a late maturer like Nash Rawiller”.
Koby is one of Australia’s tallest jockeys, but doesn’t look it when riding a racehorse. He rides with full strength and good health at 56kgs and won’t be trying to get under that. His composure and patience are rapidly becoming his trademarks.
His two principal ambitions are to win a Group 1 on an Australian racetrack, and to haul a marlin onto his beloved fibreglass fishing boat way out at Brown’s Mountain.
He’s not fussed about which one comes first.
Image courtesy of Bradley Photographers - Koby in the Darby Racing colours.
(Banner mage courtesy of Bradley Photographers - Luvaluva and Koby Jennings win the January Cup at Randwick on Saturday.)