Jye Mcneil recognised the list of top jockeys who had previously been awarded the Scobie Breasley Medal as he became a recipient for the first time in Melbourne on Saturday.
At 27-years-of-age, this prize followed McNeil’s first Melbourne Jockeys Premiership last season.
From growing up on a dairy farm to riding at the highest level, Mc Neil credited his early mentor, trainer Gerald Egan, for setting his career off with a good foundation.
“It wasn’t easy in the beginning,” Mc Neil said.
“It was a lot of hard work but it has taken me a long way.”
Votes are awarded on a 3-2-1 basis by the Racing Victoria stewards panel after each Melbourne metropolitan meeting throughout the season which saw McNeil post 54 votes with 11-time winner Damien Oliver three votes away and Damian Lane with 42.
Apprentice Alana Kelly finished fourth with 30 votes.
The Victoria Racehorse of the Year was awarded to Caulfield Cup hero Incentivise with 95 votes. The Peter Moody-trained galloper polled well clear of Verry Elleegant with 54 votes, as voted by members of the Victorian racing media.
Ciaron Maher and Dave Eustace were awarded the Fred Hoysted Medal for excellence in the training ranks both on and off the track.
With winners in Melbourne exceeding a century over the season, their on-track feats spread from winning the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate over 1100 metres to the Grand Annual Steeplechase over 5500 metres.
Eustace recalled Hitotsu’s win in the Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m) as a particularly special moment.
“He made me cry,” Eustace said.
“Not many people see me like that.”
29-year-old Maddie Raymond who notched 18 metro winners throughout 2021/22, including wins at Group 2 and Group 3 levels, won the Colin Alderson Award which recognises a Victoria trainer aged 40 or under with no more than seven seasons as a trainer.
The Tommy Corrigan Medal for jumps jockeys saw a tie in the result with first-time medal winners Willie McCarthy and Richard O’Donoghue sharing the award.
