Glyn Schofield walked off Gosford racecourse on Saturday with a noticeable spring in his step. The veteran jockey had just won the last of ten races on the mammoth stand alone Saturday meeting on Coal Crusher - a four year old gelding who’s given him a welcome “kick along” in the twilight of his distinguished career.
Glyn was delighted when trainer Joe Pride asked him to ride Coal Crusher in a BM64 at Hawkesbury last December. He was even more pleased when the lightly raced gelding won by a widening 4.3 lengths, suggesting he’d be winning again. Glyn has enjoyed some good times with the Pride stable in recent years highlighted by a fruitful association with the talented sprinter Ball Of Muscle. Six of his ten wins on the son of Dubawi were at stakes level.
Coal Crusher is no Ball Of Muscle, but is now sitting on four straight wins and is on the rise. The gelding was spelled following his Hawkesbury romp and has shown the benefit of the break by coming back to notch a hat trick. “Joe Pride is one of the best trainers I’ve been associated with in Sydney,” says Schofield. “He doesn’t start them unless they’re right on their game and goes to great lengths to find the right races for his horses.”
Glyn and Coal Crusher make it 4 wins on the trot at Gosford on Saturday - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Glyn’s only other ride at Gosford resulted in a fifth on Dhakuri for the Godolphin machine in a BM72 in the middle of the programme. It was a low key day at the races for an eminently successful jockey who’s ridden 2000 winners in five countries, with eighteen Gr 1’s in Australia alone. His career was put on hold at the end of 2020 when increasing discomfort in his right arm forced him to see a specialist. Scans revealed that disruption to the C5, C6 and C7 vertebrae had caused an impingement to nerve ends in the arm. Subsequent surgery was successful, but specialists ruled that a six month period of rehabilitation was necessary to achieve optimum results.
With opportunities not as plentiful as they’d been, it was widely predicted the champion jockey would contemplate retirement. Those predictions were wide of the mark. The minute he was cleared by specialists, Schofield embarked on a get fit trackwork regime and couldn’t wait to return to the official trials. He rode in seven trials on August 26th last year, and in another eleven the following week. Any doubts he may have had about a comeback were dispelled when he won several trials and felt the old familiar adrenaline rush.
“I knew before resuming that things would never be quite the same,” said Glyn. “I was the oldest jockey in a room full of brilliant young riders and several talented apprentices. My arm was back to normal, I felt fit and healthy and was confident I could still do the job. I guess I hoped that some trainers might still appreciate the experience I’d had all over the world. Most importantly I didn’t want to be sitting at home twiddling my thumbs.”
Glyn in one of 5 Gr. 1 wins on Boban - the 2014 Chipping Norton Stakes defeating Dundeel and Hawkspur - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Coal Crusher’s win on Saturday was his twentieth on NSW tracks since his return to race riding last September - two of those were in listed races on Special Reward for the Kris Lees stable, while another was a Gr 2 win on Yonkers in the Shannon Stakes for Chris Waller. An old association with Godolphin has been rekindled by James Cummings to provide a handful of winners for the comeback jockey. “It’s been better than I expected,” said Glyn. “I’m enjoying my riding immensely, and I’ll keep going until I feel I can no longer compete with these younger guys.”
Glyn travelled to Gosford on Saturday with son Chad whose five rides produced a stakes win on Blondeau in the Takeover Target Stakes and a second on O’President in the feature event The Coast. Chad’s working hard to regenerate his career in Australia following almost seven successful seasons in Hong Kong. This wasn’t the first time Glyn and his son had ridden winners on the same card. “I got a call from the Hong Kong Jockey Club about five years ago asking me to do a short stint over there when they were down on jockey numbers,” said Glyn. “Chad and I were the first father and son team to ever ride on the same card in Hong Kong, and we added to the history by each winning a race on a Sha Tin programme.”
Chad wins the Takeover Target Stakes on Blondeau at Gosford's stand alone meeting on Saturday - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
Schofield Snr was chuffed to be part of another unique situation at a recent Newcastle meeting which went largely unnoticed. A piece of Australian racing history may have been created when two father and son duos rode in the same race - regrettably none of the quartet figured in the placings. Andrew and Dylan Gibbons, and Glyn and Chad Schofield all competed in a BM64 won by Travelling Kate. “That may have been a first anywhere in the world,” said Glyn. “Until somebody speaks up, I think we’ll claim that as a record.”
George and Gary Moore rode in many races together overseas. Here they are prior to mounting up at a race meeting in France in the 1960s.
Arguably the best known father and son jockey combination in Australian racing history was that of George and Gary Moore in the 60’s and 70’s. George actually rode in the race in which Gary scored his first career win on Tremendous at Rosehill in 1967. Moore senior finished well back on McClintock, but was highly elated to see his sixteen year old son announce his arrival as a professional jockey. Despite having to live in the shadow of his legendary Dad, Gary went on to international acclaim. Wins in a Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe and an English 1000 Guineas hold pride of place on his CV, alongside seven Hong Kong jockey’s premierships.
From Longchamps to Mt. Isa in Queensland’s Gulf Country, father and son horsemen Keith and Dan Ballard continue to feature at local race meetings. Their remarkable achievements saw them gain inductions into the Queensland Racing Hall Of Fame last year. Deservedly, wife and mother Denise Ballard was included in the rare family acknowledgment. Keith Ballard is closer to seventy than he is to sixty, but is frequently seen fighting out a finish with his son.
Ace Perth race caller Darren McAullay reminded me that family jockey teams have featured in WA racing over the years. “Danny and Damien Miller were a successful double act, while Johnny Miller’s sons Shane and Mark competed against their dad late in his career,” recalled Darren. “Then there was Shaun O’Donnell Senior and Junior while Troy and Jordan Turner continue to boot home the winners.”
Back to Glyn Schofield who still looks back on Cox Plate day 2013 as one of the most exciting of his career. Glyn rode a winning treble at the Rosehill meeting although his thoughts were squarely focused on Moonee Valley where nineteen year old Chad was to ride Shamus Award in the iconic weight for age contest. “Nothing I achieved in Sydney that day compared with the thrill I got watching my son win one of the most famous races in the world,” he said. “There wasn’t a rider in the Rosehill jockey’s room who didn’t offer congratulations. It was an unforgettable experience.”
Shamus Award clings on to beat Happy Trails in the 2013 Cox Plate - a fairy tale win for 19 year old Chad Schofield - courtesy Racing Photos.
In the middle of 2015 Chad had a brief stint in England, where he rode Criterion into fifth place in the Gr 1 Prince of Wales Stakes at Royal Ascot. It was during this short stay that he was invited to consider a contract to ride in Hong Kong. After consultation with his father, young Schofield took up the offer destined to stay for over six seasons. Despite the powerful presence of Joao Moreira and Zac Purton, Chad made his mark with over two hundred winners. He and wife Hannah welcomed baby son Archer into the world in February, after which the young jockey set about the task of forging a new career in the ferociously competitive Sydney riding ranks.
As Glyn Schofield comes to the end of his stellar career, Chad prepares for the hard work and total dedication required to find a place among Sydney’s army of elite jockeys. Chris Waller’s stable foreman Charlie Duckworh summed it up on Sky Thoroughbred Central after Chad had won on Blondeau at Gosford on Saturday. “It’s taken him a while to gather momentum in Sydney, but he’s on his way now and we’ll be more than happy to give him some support.”
Schofield Snr is not yet ready to spend his days turning the pages of a very thick scrapbook. “I’m as keen today as I was when I came out of the South African Jockey’s Academy,” said Glyn. “My brother-in-law Jeff Lloyd was still winning premierships in Brisbane at fifty seven. I won’t be winning any premierships but I’ll still give those young turks a run for their money if I can get myself on a few with the necessary ability. You never know, another Hay List or Boban might come along. Stranger things have happened.”
The masked marvel! Glyn and Yonkers flashed home to win the Shannon Stakes only weeks after his return to the saddle in September - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
(Banner image - Coal Crusher was tenacious in beating He's A Hotshot at Gosford on Saturday - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.)