Talented New Zealand rider Alysha Collett is hoping to break through for her first Australian Group 1 when she partners two lightweight chances on Epsom Handicap day at Randwick.

Collett will team up with Swiftfalcon in the $1.5 million Epsom Handicap (1600m) for Team Hawkes and Don Diego De Vega in the Group 1 Metropolitan (2400m) for Annabel and Rob Archibald.

The Kiwi hoop has contested 17 Group 1 races in Australia for two placings and says she is now receiving the right opportunities to take the next step. “The last four of five years I’ve fortunately had really good opportunities in Group Ones and been exposed to them, which is really nice,” Collett said. “It’s also getting the right opportunities. This year I’ve got really good support which is the main thing. It has been a slow battle but things are going really well.”

Swiftfalcon is a $15 chance for the Epsom, where he will wear blinkers for the first time, while Don Diego De Vega is a $34 shot in the Metropolitan. The latter, winner of the Grafton Cup (2350m), bungled the start in the Newcastle Cup but still finished off nicely behind Soul Of Spain. Archibald believes he will strip fitter. “He is naturally very fit,” she said. “Although he missed the start at Newcastle and it was just a sit and sprint, it was probably the ideal lead-up run into this.”

Collett has already enjoyed spring carnival success, claiming the Group 3 Bill Ritchie Handicap (1400m) with With Your Blessing and the Premier’s Cup (2000m) with Nellie Leylax. She has five rides at Randwick on Saturday, including Legaselli in the Group 3 Gimcrack Stakes (1000m).

Punters eager to back Collett’s mounts in the Epsom Handicap or Metropolitan can find the best odds at Australia’s leading betting sites and most trusted online bookmakers.