On the eve of his 27th birthday and blessed with the luxury of having no need for the sauna, Andrew Adkins has slipped into a comfortable niche among Sydney’s riding ranks. With the expert help of manager Tilan Lee, the amiable jockey has become a fixture at the alternating Newcastle and Kembla Grange Saturday meetings. Despite his height of 170cm Andrew is able to ride at the limit weight, which promotes frequent midweek metropolitan rides. “I’ve been able to build up a loyal clientele at the Saturday provincials, and I’m focused on returning that loyalty,” said Andrew. “I ride regular work at Randwick and Rosehill for trainers who often send horses to Kembla and Newcastle. The system is working out really well.”
Andrew’s trackwork input for John O’Shea and Tom Charlton brought him a win on Aunty Rene at Kembla on Saturday. A patient ride from Adkins saw the four year old So You Think mare finish over the top of the leaders in the 1500m Cl 1, to record her second win from just ten starts. Aunty Rene was Andrew’s only winner on the eight race card, but he also posted two seconds and two thirds from a book of seven rides. Aunty Rene provided Adkins with his thirteenth win since June 26th, including two stakes races.
4YO mare Aunty Rene responded to a patient ride to win Saturday's Cl 1 at Kembla - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
The first black type win came courtesy of Racing NSW who opted to carry the listed Civic Stakes over to a Warwick Farm midweeker when the Randwick card was abandoned the previous Saturday. Andrew remained cool when his mount Diamond Diesel was hopelessly “snookered” on straightening for home. He found a gap between horses at the 200m and the consistent gelding put the opposition away in a few strides. The jockey was having his first ride on Diamond Diesel, having been snapped up by trainer Adam Duggan when the horse was weighted on 53 kgs under the Quality conditions.
Diamond Diesel sprinted brilliantly when clear of a pocket to win the listed Civic Stakes at Warwick Farm 26/06/2024 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Andrew’s Randwick trackwork assistance to Team Snowden was directly responsible for his win on Ka Bling in the Ramornie Hcp at Grafton on July 17th. He had the gelding perfectly placed in sixth spot turning for home before finding a split between Bacchanalia and Richon at the 100m. Ka Bling finished best to win the sprint from Bacchanalia and stablemate Tashi. As a native of Port Macquarie Andrew derived great satisfaction from the occasion, while Peter Snowden made it a quartet of Ramornie wins. The champion trainer had been successful previously with Ranges (2022), Signore Fox (2020) and Calanda (2017).
On his twice weekly routine at Randwick trackwork Andrew splits his time between Peter Snowden, O’Shea/Charlton and another good supporter in Michael Freedman. Twice a week he attends Rosehill trackwork for Team Hawkes who use his services on a regular basis. The jockey won on Futtaim for the stable at a recent Warwick Farm midweek meeting, while the Hawkes trained Misty Legend was the middle leg of an Adkins treble at Wyong on July 20th.
The fact that Andrew grew up in a family home adjacent to the 450m mark at Port Macquarie racecourse, sparked an early interest in the thoroughbred horse. By early teens he was focused on the idea of becoming a jockey, and the stars aligned when local trainer Marc Quinn offered him an apprenticeship. The eager youngster made a promising start with a second on Cracker Night in a Taree BM50 at his first race ride on Melbourne Cup day 2013. He was pretty discouraged when it took another forty rides before that elusive first winner came along. “I was beginning to think it would never happen,” recalled Andrew. “Six months after my first ride I got home on Red Almighty for trainer Beatrice Godbolt in a Cl 1 on my home track. It was a massive thrill.”
A quick flurry of winners brought Andrew under notice as a likely prospect for a metropolitan trainer. Again, the stars aligned when he received a phone call from none other than Ron Quinton, the emerging heir apparent to Theo Green as a master tutor of apprentices. The association got away to a flying start before the pair actually met. “On the very day I was driving down from Port Macquarie to start my apprenticeship, Ron asked me to drop off at Newcastle races where he had a runner requiring a claim,” said the jockey. “You wouldn’t believe it, I jumped on Gold Torque to win a BM race for my new boss. What a wonderful start to my association with a great man.”
The master and his pupil! Ron Quinton with Andrew in 2017 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Natural talent, a sound work ethic and invaluable instruction from a master horseman saw Andrew go ahead in leaps and bounds. The winners came at a rapid rate, as did opportunities from a wide range of Sydney stables. A few weeks short of his twentieth birthday at the end of the 2016/2017 season, Andrew Adkins was crowned champion metropolitan apprentice with 36 wins. His overall tally at NSW meetings was an impressive 53.
He was barely out of his time in 2018 when Ron Quinton unhesitatingly locked him in as the rider of Daysee Doom in the Gr 1 Coolmore Classic at Rosehill. Andrew had ridden the mare flawlessly to win the Gr 2 Millie Fox two weeks earlier, and Quinton saw no reason to replace him in the highly prized Gr 1 mares race. Andrew opted to go forward from a wide gate and was obliged to park outside the leader Flippant all the way to the hometurn. The genuine Daysee Doom held off many challenges in beating Victorian visitors Oregon’s Day and Silent Sedition to give her young jockey his only elite level win to date. Andrew rode Daysee Doom in 23 of her 27 career starts for 9 wins and 6 placings. “Early days I didn’t even enjoy riding her work,” said Adkins. “She was quirky and arrogant but finally gave all that nonsense away to become a professional race mare.”
Andrew rode Daysee Doom positively to win the 2018 Coolmore Classic - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Andrew’s journey hasn’t been without its setbacks and injuries. At one stage he endured the legacies of four falls in fifteen months. In April of 2019 he suffered vertebrae, sternum, rib, and jaw damage when his mount War Baron fell after jumping a fallen horse near the line at Randwick. No surgery was required and he healed very quickly to be back in the saddle sooner than expected. He couldn’t believe his luck or lack of it not long after, when he fell down stairs at home sustaining a broken wrist. Again his youth and adherence to the rules of recovery saw him back in action in record time, but the horror run wasn’t over yet. He’d barely resumed when an unruly horse crashed through the barriers with him at the Randwick trials, hurling him backwards out of the saddle. He was devastated to learn he’d broken the same wrist again. The aforementioned trifecta of trauma paled into insignificance alongside Andrew’s next horror experience.
The Rosehill Gardens fall which put him out of action in July of 2020, was very widely publicised. His list of injuries was soul destroying for the young jockey - multiple fractures to the left leg, seven broken ribs, and a fractured collar bone. His condition was further complicated by a pneumothorax or collapsed lung. Following the insertion of a steel rod in his left leg, the tough as teak jockey beat a retreat to his parents’ Port Macquarie home to begin a long and tedious rehabilitation. It was to be nine months before he was back in action. His amazing attitude throughout the ordeal was admired by family and friends.
A fine study of Andrew Adkins winning the Golden Gift on Dame Giselle at Rosehill 09/11/2019 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Nowadays free of the “hardware” required to put his left leg back together, Andrew is lighter than ever, keener than ever and thoroughly enjoying his life as a professional jockey. This young man’s outlook on the vagaries of life were classically illustrated during his long absence after the Rosehill accident. When asked to nominate the people who most inspired him, the reply was concise. “Mum and Dad of course and my former boss Ron Quinton was always there for me. But in the end, I was my own best inspiration. Every time I got down in the dumps, I just gave myself a good kick in the bum and moved on. It’s the best therapy.”
(Banner image - Andrew Adkins returns to scale on Aunty Rene at Kembla - his 13th winner since June 26th - courtesy Bradley Photographers.)