A candid conversation held at the beginning of the Sydney carnival has been pivotal in Dylan Gibbons discovering a significant surge in form during one of the most important weeks on the racing calendar.
The skilled rider partnered Jamberoo to a narrow victory in Tuesday’s $750,000 Little Dance (1600m) at Randwick, marking his second major win in three days after capturing the $3 million Russell Balding Stakes (1300m) on the Bjorn Baker-trained Pericles.
Jamberoo’s co-trainer, John O’Shea, a long-time supporter of Gibbons, revealed that he initiated a serious discussion with the jockey at the start of the spring racing season.
“A couple of months ago, we sat down and had a little chat, and had some requirements we needed from him,” O’Shea explained. “I thought he had more to offer. We wanted consistency and execution. He was just making some poor choices in races that weren’t incumbent of a jockey of his quality.”
“He’s reacted. He’s responded, and look how he’s going. They can sook, or go the other way, but he took it the right way, and I’m really proud of him.”
Gibbons delivered a perfect ride on Jamberoo ($13), moving across from a wide gate to sit outside the pacesetter, and the gelding kept finding to win by a length over Anythink Goes ($51), with the topweight Estadio Mestalla ($7.50) a short neck behind in third.
O’Shea highlighted Jamberoo’s strong record at the Randwick mile, noting a previous victory over the talented stablemate Cross Tasman and the recent Big Dance winner, Hellsing, in February.
“If you go through his lead-up runs, they’ve all been really good and at a good level,” O’Shea remarked. “He’s a horse that loves the mile at Randwick. He beat Cross Tasman here one day.”
Gibbons now boasts two wins from four rides on Jamberoo, and he expressed confidence in the horse’s ability to fight hard under pressure.
“I was at him a long way from home like he was going to run last, but I just know he’s got that good determination,” Gibbons confided. “When he knows they’re behind him and got to get past him, he’s mighty hard to beat.”
The jockey then secured a second consecutive win in the following race aboard Polyglot for Michael Freedman in the Choisir Handicap (1100m).
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