Two aggressive rides brought Regan Bayliss a Gr 2 double at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday. His confidence was buoyed by the fact that he was riding two very fit horses in Nimalee and Surf Dancer, while track behaviour seemed to be favouring on pace runners - at least until Jacquinot defied the pattern by storming down the middle of the track to blow the opposition away in the Golden Rose.
Nimalee was Regan’s first ride of the day in the Gr 2 Golden Pendant. By the time he got into the jockey’s room, speculation was rife that a forward position was the way to go. He was pleased when trainer Matthew Smith concurred. Nimalee was drawn one spot in from the extreme outside with Palaisipan the widest runner. Regan elected to keep pressing forward when he was trapped three wide on the first turn, but was able to do so without undue pressure. Nimalee settled at the girth of leader Expat with Palaisipan trapped three wide for the duration. “She travelled strongly all the way and had Expat covered at the 300m,” said Regan. “I was worried when Palaisipan rounded me up pretty quickly, but she gave a terrific kick in the last bit. She’s a quality mare.”
First leg of a stakes double for Regan Bayliss. Nimalee holds on grimly to win the Golden Pendant - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
A quality mare indeed with a quality record to match. The daughter of So You Think made it 8 wins and 7 placings for a prize money tally of $1.52 million for owners Lester and Margaret Durney, who race under the Letmar Investments banner. Nimalee isn’t the first top class mare to carry the Lester Durney colours. In the mid 1980’s he raced the immensely talented Avon Angel with Mr and Mrs Dominic Beirne. Randwick trainer Bob Thomsen guided Avon Angel through a nineteen start career which yielded 10 wins including a Gr 1 Rosemount Classic (now the Coolmore Classic). Nimalee grabbed her well deserved Gr 1 last April when she scored brilliantly in the Queen Of The Turf.
Despite the fact that Jacquinot had defied the pattern in the previous race, Adrian Bott was insistent that Regan should go forward from the outset on Surf Dancer in the Gr 2 Shannon Stakes. The young jockey obliged by settling at the girth of the speedy Ellsberg with Big Boy Roy and Old Flame sharing the box seat. Surf Dancer was still charging at the 100m and safely held Old Flame to win the Gr 2 by just under a length. The Irish bred gelding is already qualified for the Big Dance per medium of a recent win in the South Grafton Cup. Saturday’s win makes him ballot exempt for next Saturday’s Epsom, but Adrian Bott seemed more intent on targeting the $2 million dollar Big Dance on Melbourne Cup day, rather than risking too hard a run against elite opposition in the Gr 1 mile.
Surf Dancer raced only four times in the UK winning one mediocre race at York before being shipped to Australia in July 2020. He’s been given plenty of time by Waterhouse/Bott posting only eight starts for three wins and three placings. Regan has ridden him in the majority of his trackwork, and has noted sharp improvement in recent weeks. “He felt better every time I got on him at trackwork,” said the jockey. “He’s a perfect example of an imported horse needing time to acclimatise. We should see the best of him from now on.”
Irish bred Surf Dancer scores an emphatic win in the Shannon Stakes. He's on his way to the Big Dance - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
Regan Bayliss has crammed a great deal into his twenty five years. Regan is the son of former successful jockey Jamie Bayliss, and a brother to Jake Bayliss who enjoyed great success in Queensland before taking up a riding contract in Singapore early this year. He’s been winning races consistently with another double as recently as last Saturday. Both Regan and Jake were Queensland born but were taken to Victoria by their father in 2010 when both showed an interest in becoming jockeys. Jake was apprenticed to Mick Kent. Regan learned the basics from the same trainer before being signed up by Peter Moody. When Moody relinquished his licence in 2016, young Regan’s indentureship was snapped up by Hayes, Hayes and Dabernig with whom he spent the remainder of his apprenticeship.
A good work ethic and an abundance of talent, saw things happen quickly for the younger Bayliss lad. He was lucky enough to form a partnership with the high quality sprinter Redkirk Warrior which would bring him three Gr 1 wins and a Hong Kong contract. The gelding had won a Gr 1 race in Hong Kong before being shipped to Australia. David Hayes recognized immediately that Regan had an affinity with the import and decided to leave him on despite persistent enquiries from the managers of several high profile jockeys.
The pair combined for the first time in the Newmarket of 2017 in which all runners went to the flat side. Redkirk Warrior raced outside the leader Star Turn to the 300m where he fairly exploded away to win brilliantly. The video replay shows a very excited young jockey going past the post. He was just two days short of his twentieth birthday. Regan’s dream weekend was far from over - just two days later he won the Gr 2 Adelaide Cup on Annus Mirabilis for trainer Stuart Webb.
Regan’s second win on the gelding was another easy affair as he bolted away with the Bobbie Lewis Quality. A month later a very youthful Bayliss was given the privilege of handling Redkirk Warrior in the very first Everest won by Redzel. He finished 10th of 12 runners but only 4.3 lengths from the winner, and the young jockey was thrilled beyond description. The horse was turned out after failing in the Darley Classic but returned in winning vein the following autumn to notch the Lightning Stakes/ Newmarket Gr 1 double. Regan retained the ride and performed flawlessly. The sprinter’s Lightning win was breathtaking as he came from last to grab Redzel on the line.
Regan says Redkirk Warrior's Lightning Stakes win in 2018 was his best performance. He came from last of 10 runners to nail Redzel in the last stride - courtesy Racing Photos.
In winning his second Newmarket, Redkirk Warrior led the group of horses on the grandstand side while a number of others went to the opposite side of the track. Regan landed the sprinter a narrow winner over the imported Brave Smash and to add to the significance of the achievement Regan won that second Newmarket on his twenty first birthday. The horse was spelled after the Newmarket and on his return was set for the famous Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot. Connections opted to use the legendary Frankie Dettori whose Royal Ascot strike rate is legendary. Frankie’s magic had little effect on the day, and Redkirk Warrior finished well back. Regan Bayliss would have been more than satisfied had he never had the opportunity to ride the outstanding sprinter again, but one last surprise was in store. Before he knew it the young jockey was on his way to England, where he rode Redkirk Warrior in the historic July Cup at Newmarket finishing 10th some 6 lengths from the winner. It was a rare experience for the young Aussie on a life changing horse.
The amazing Gr 1 treble on Redkirk Warrior brought the young Queenslander under notice for a short term riding contract in Hong Kong. Easily his biggest thrill in the brutally competitive HK arena was to ride Douglas Whyte’s first winner as a trainer. He rode a total of twelve winners despite missing a lot of time with a hand injury. On returning to Australia Regan decided to accept a stable retainer from Anthony Cummings and he quickly came under the notice of other Randwick trainers.
Regan enjoyed a brief association with the ill-fated Libertini. He won the Gr 2 Premiere Stakes on the brilliant mare and retained the ride in the 2020 Everest. She finished out of a place just 4 lengths behind Classique Legend, and the young jockey was in disbelief that he’d ridden in two of the first four runnings of the world’s richest race on turf. He also finished second in two Gr 1 races on the Anthony Cummings trained mare Mizzy - the Coolmore Classic and the Canterbury Stakes. He was gifted an unexpected Gr 1 win when the Canterbury Stakes winner Savatiano was disqualified after returning a positive swab.
Regan sends the ill fated Libertini to the line to win the Gr.2 Premiere Stakes 03/10/2020 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
The events of October 2nd 2021 command a lot of space in the Regan Bayliss scrapbook. He was twenty four years old and riding against some of the best jockeys in Australia, when he landed two Gr 1 winners just forty minutes apart. He brought Never Been Kissed with a perfectly timed run to beat Hinged and Startantes in the Flight Stakes at odds of $41.00. In the very next race he unleashed an amazing burst on Joe Pride’s Private Eye, to win the time honoured Epsom in the last bound from Aramayo.
Taking time off is not an appropriate move when you’re a young rider trying to carve a niche for himself in one of the toughest racing jurisdictions in the world. Regan made an exception in June when he whisked his partner Sheridan Paine to Europe for a brief romantic interlude. In between touring excursions in Greece, Italy and Spain the young jockey picked the right moment to propose to the daughter of Neil and Raelene Paine. Their impending marriage will see Regan become a brother-in-law by marriage to fellow prominent Sydney jockey Brenton Avdulla, whose wife Taylor is Sheridan’s older sister.
As tough as it is to compete in the Sydney riding ranks, Regan is totally committed to giving it his best shot. He has the support of some very strong Randwick stables, and is dedicated to earning his keep. He’s a regular at the unrelenting Sydney barrier trial schedule, and tries hard to attend trackwork on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings. He enjoys one luxury that makes him the envy of many of his contemporaries. “I can make 54kgs any day of the week,” he says. “Given ample notice I could get down to 52 or 52.5 in some of those major handicap races. I don’t over do the meals but I’m able to eat fairly normally. Don’t tell my fellow jockeys whatever you do.”
Regan was all smiles after a Gr. 1 win on Never Been Kissed in the 2021 Flight Stakes - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
The jockey is delighted to have the ride on a very smart two year old in Saturday’s Arrowfield Breeder’s Plate. His contribution to the Waterhouse/Bott stable has earned him the ride on a Brazen Beau colt called Tarabeau who looked a ready made racehorse when he convincingly won his heat at last week’s Randwick trials. Tarabeau did everything right in recording a soft win over stablemate Maktabi.
From a future viewpoint Regan looks forward to the return of the three year old gelding Kibou who’s won three races from five starts, all on city tracks and all by a dominant margin. The son of Maurice displayed signs of knee issues after his most recent win on August 27th. He underwent arthroscopic surgery for the removal of bone chips and was turned out immediately. “He’s yet another one from the Gai and Adrian stable with a bright future,” says the jockey.
Regan’s achievements in just nine years of race riding have exceeded his wildest dreams. He’s won a total of 466 races including 6 Gr 1’s, 10 Gr 2’s, 3 Gr 3’s and 11 at listed level - extraordinary figures. Still six months off his twenty sixth birthday, Regan Bayliss has the ball at his feet.
(Banner image - Nimalee lifts gamely to hold off Palaisipan in the Gr.2 Golden Pendant - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.)