Keen observers of NSW western districts racing were surprised when Wendy Peel made the trip from Brisbane to ride at Coonamble’s Country Championship Qualifier Sunday meeting on March 12th.They probably assumed she was making a guest appearance to ride Raging Rush, one of Clint Lundholm’s nine runners in the $150,000 event. Their assumption was wide of the mark. She has since ridden at Narromine, Orange, twice at Mudgee and twice at Wellington. On Saturday she had four rides at Warren for two placings. The hard working jockey is still waiting for that elusive first win to come up after twenty three rides in the central west.
Wendy Peel isn’t the first jockey to suffer a bout of “opportunity deprivation” at the completion of her apprenticeship. When she came out of her time in December of last year she was one win short of losing her provincial claim, while her 2KG city claim would have applied for another fifty wins. “I couldn’t believe how quickly my services were dispensed with,” said Wendy. “I went from eight or ten rides a week to one or two virtually overnight. I quickly got down in the dumps and couldn’t see much point in riding miles of trackwork for little reward. I decided to try central western NSW where I had some great old contacts. So here I am, an experienced lightweight jockey trying to get my career back on track as a senior rider. It’s a tough business.”
Born in Scone and reared in the tiny outpost of Spring Ridge near Quirindi, Wendy learned about horses from her paternal grandfather, and from her mother Karen and aunt Lyn, both accomplished horsewomen. She reached the top level in showjumping and eventing at local pony club, but her passion for thoroughbreds lay dormant until she landed a work experience role helping to prepare yearlings at the legendary Arrowfield Stud. Never one to let the grass grow under her feet, young Wendy immediately enrolled for a horse business management course at Marcus Oldham College in Geelong after which she returned to Arrowfield at the height of presale activity. She also had a brief stint at nearby Yarraman Park Stud.
Wendy enjoys a social day at Randwick with her Aunt Lyn.
Wendy’s Marcus Oldham College accreditation gained her a practical placement in France under the tutelage of expat Aussie Andrew Booth, a renowned tutor of showjumping and dressage aspirants. Spurred on by youthful exuberance and a sense of adventure Wendy later gained a four month stint on a Florida horse farm owned by Clayton Frederick, a former Aussie Olympian who’d established a good business coaching showjumping hopefuls.
Then came the experience that would ignite her passion for riding racehorses. Wendy was working at Wellfield Lodge Stud outside Palmerston North in NZ when invited to ride some trackwork at nearby Awapuni racecourse by trainer Gary Vile. Two weeks into the experiment the young lady from Spring Ridge was completely and utterly hooked on the prospect of becoming a jockey. Back in Sydney she was fortunate to gain an immediate start as a strapper and work rider on the Gai Waterhouse trackwork team all the while putting out “feelers” for a potential apprenticeship opportunity. Nine months later jockey turned trainer Peter Robl agreed to sign her up. “Peter was still riding a lot of rackwork at the time and turned out to be an excellent tutor,” recalled Wendy. “He could be a little testy if I happened to go too quickly or too slow but he taught me the art of judging pace. He also gave me my first race ride on a horse called Percussion in a 1200m race at Canberra on December 1st 2017. I never got sighted but my riding career was under way.”
Wendy is one of precious few jockeys who can say their very first win was in a Cup race. While still with Peter Robl she got the call up from trainer Scott Spackman to ride a grey mare called Don’t Even Kiss Me in the 1400m Tumut Cup at Tumbarumba, a stone’s throw from Banjo Paterson’s beloved Snowy Mountains. “Tumbarumba is a funny little course with part of it on the side of a hill, but to me it could have been Randwick or Flemington,” said Wendy. “Scott told me the mare would just lead and win, and his judgement was spot on.”
It was Peter Robl who suggested Wendy should seek a transfer of her apprenticeship to a leading country trainer who could offer her more opportunities. Peter actually played a hand in arranging her move to the Tamworth stables of successful trainer Sue Grills with whom she would spend an invaluable eighteen months. “Not only did Sue put many opportunities my way, but she allowed me to travel to faraway race meetings for other trainers,” said Wendy. “Her generosity got my career up and running but my progress was halted when I was one of five jockeys to crash at a Tamworth Sunday meeting. Rachel King and Greg Ryan made quick recoveries and I was back in three months. Josh Adams and Kath Bell-Pitomac took forever to resume their riding careers. Wendy suffered extensive damage to her right shoulder which required ten screws and a plate - hardware she carries to this day.
An early Barraba win on the Todd Payne trained Semtex after joining the Sue Grills stable - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Tamworth trainer Cody Morgan kick started her return to race riding by putting her on Mr. Pumblechook in the Gulgong Cup. “We had a perfect run just behind the leaders before switching out at the top of the straight,” said Wendy. “Mr. Pumblechook grabbed them on the line and I was back in business. I can’t begin to tell you what that win did for my confidence.”
Wendy’s opportunities in the north western region diminished when her country claim dried up. With a glut of promising apprentices available in the area she was pleased to accept an offer from Nyngan trainer Rodney Robb who had thirty horses in work at the time and didn’t mind travelling to win a race. “I won the Cotton Cup at Warren on Bells ‘N’ Bows and the Louth Cup on Austin for Rodney,” said Wendy. “We also spent a wonderful month in the Queensland outback covering Cup meetings at Betoota, Bedourie and Birdsville. We won a few races including the Bedourie Cup, did plenty of fishing and met some unique characters as we sat around the campfire at night.”
Wendy decided on a move to Queensland in the middle of 2020 when an opportunity came up with trainer Paul Butterworth in Brisbane. The partnership got away to a good start with several outside wins and reached a new level when Canapes won a BM78 at Doomben - Wendy’s first ever metropolitan success. Her elation was short lived. Just two days later she was involved in a freakish mishap at the Deagon jump outs which left her with a broken right hip. The surgery was complex and she was sidelined for twelve weeks.
It was a tough road back for the determined jockey whose unfailing work ethic quickly put her back under the notice of trainers. She rode a flurry of winners for Paul Butterworth, Kacy Fogden, Lindsay Hatch, Kevin Kemp and Brian Wakefield. A short time later she and Paul Butterworth agreed on a transfer of her indentures to Lorraine Erhart at Eagle Farm which allowed Wendy more time to ride work for other stables. “As soon as Lorraine’s horses were worked I’d do another nine or ten for outside trainers,” said Wendy. “I was blessed to have daily consultation with Tony Erhart, one of Queensland’s best ever jockeys. His help was greatly appreciated.”
Wendy’s crowning moment in Queensland was her win on Rather Salubrious in the 2021 Battle Of The Bush Final at Eagle Farm - the equivalent of Sydney’s Country Championship Final. It was a timely reminder that good old fashioned loyalty still exists in a racing industry which is greatly influenced by undreamed of prize money levels. She’d ridden the Dalby trained mare into third place in a BM85 at Eagle Farm several weeks earlier, after which trainer David Reynolds promised her the ride should Rather Salubrious qualify for the Battle Of The Bush Final. The mare subsequently ran second at Jandowae on Cup day before winning the Battle Of The Bush Qualifier at Goondiwindi with 57kgs. Talented rider Angela Jones was on board in both races, and Wendy convinced herself that Angela would retain the ride in town. To David Reynolds’ eternal credit he declared Wendy Peel as the jockey in the Battle Of The Bush Final and the rest has passed happily into the history books.
Wendy was probably looking for trainer David Reynolds as Rather Salubrious won the Battle Of The Bush at Eagle Farm 2021 - courtesy Trackside Photography.
Wendy had Rather Salubrious in sixth spot at the 600m at which point the mare seemed to hit a flat spot. “David told me she could do this on occasions and had to be ridden aggressively,” said Wendy. “We were in the right spot on the turn but she seemed to labour for a while. She suddenly gathered momentum and went from no hope to a realistic chance in a few strides. It was a massive thrill for all concerned and I was so happy to be able to repay David’s loyalty. Happily I won three more races on Rather Salubrious at Dalby, Yeppoon and Doomben. Is it any wonder she’s one of my all time favourites.”
Trainer David Reynolds with Wendy after the Battle Of The Bush presentation. Peel was the only apprentice to ride in the race - courtesy Trackside Photography.
Wendy rode 100 winners during her Queensland stint, winning many friends and experiencing several career highs. Having to compete against an army of talented jockeys on level terms is a pretty intimidating prospect but plucky Wendy Peel is ready for the tough transition. She intends to base herself in the strong racing town of Dubbo, and is already contemplating the purchase of a home. She has forged a good connection with talented trainers Clint Lundholm and Brett Robb who between them have over 80 horses in work. Wendy also helps out with the huge volume of office work associated with Brett’s burgeoning training operation.
At thirty years of age and with almost 200 career winners under the belt Wendy Peel can be safely classed as a thoroughly experienced professional jockey. For those trainers who reward unstinting work ethic, they’ll be hard pressed to find a more willing contributor at trackwork than the little lady who acquired the predictable nickname of “Banana” during her days on the north western circuit. There’s little doubt Wendy’s greatest single attribute is her ability to ride light. She made 49kgs on a couple of occasions during her time in Brisbane, but won’t need to do that again unless she picks up the ride on a bottom weight in a major handicap down the track. For now it’s a matter of getting her nose to the grindstone, and having a serious crack in the ranks of the fully fledged jockeys.
This was a special moment for Wendy in 2020. She rode seven horses on three different tracks on the day. Here she is after winning on Punctuality at Toowoomba in the last race - courtesy Trackside Photography.
She had to drive all the way back to Brisbane after winning the last race at Clifford Park 21/08/2020. She led all the way on Punctuality - courtesy Trackside Photography.
(Banner image - Wendy was airborne on Montana Pines in a 2019 Rising Star heat at Tamworth - courtesy Bradley Photographers.)