The Taplin name has been absent from New Zealand racebooks over the past couple of years, but that all changed on Saturday at Tauranga when emerging apprentice Jack Taplin rode his first winner aboard Pacifico.
Indentured to Cambridge trainer Stephen Marsh, Taplin had ridden Group One winner Mercurial and Group One performer Harlech on his opening day at the races at Te Rapa and then came close to breaking through during the week at Cambridge, with a runner-up result aboard Billy Lincoln.
Prepared by Andrew Forsman, Pacifico was Taplin’s sole ride at the Tauranga meeting, starting second-favourite behind Monday Melody in the Michael Montgomery Memorial (1600m).
With the advantage of the inside draw and a four-kilogram claim, Pacifico found the lead with relative ease. Having crossed from a wide draw, Maldini sat outside the leader through the mid-stages, but was directed wide in the straight by Michael McNab, while Taplin hugged the rail and went for home on Pacifico. It came right down to the wire, but Pacifico had the edge late to deliver for Taplin and his father Ian, who was on course.
“He jumped away well enough and cruised up to the front,” Taplin said. “I spoke with Mr Forsman and we watched the race beforehand and made a decision to stick to the rail. With the four kilos off, it definitely helped.
“It was awesome and pretty extraordinary to have Dad over here, he came over last week for my first ride and he thought, ‘bugger it, I’ll stay’, because I had Billy Lincoln on Wednesday, who we thought would go really close.
“After that, he decided to just stay on again for Saturday, and he was over the moon with excitement.”
The 21-year-old was born and raised in Southland, with his mother Kerry Taplin training thoroughbreds for over 20 years, accumulating 177 wins domestically, 60 of those in partnership with Ian. They prepared horses, often with names associated with ‘Tap’, from their dairy farm at Isla Bank.
In mid-2022, the couple decided to pursue their dream of breeding and training horses in Australia and relocated to the Sunshine Coast, where Taplin became more involved in the industry. While working for his parents, he was also closely associated with Sheila Laxon and her Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) winner Knight’s Choice.
“I was around the horses growing up down south and rode trackwork when I was younger, then when I was about 16, I stepped away from the racing for a few years,” Taplin said.
“I really got back into it when we moved over to Australia, working for Sheila Laxon and my parents. I rode Knight’s Choice in trackwork for a long time and I took him down to Sydney for the Golden Eagle (A$10 million, 1500m), so seeing him win the Melbourne Cup was pretty awesome.
“For Mum and Dad, there have been a few standouts, including the Winter Cup (Gr.3, 1600m) in New Zealand with Ritani. I’d actually flown back from Australia that day and surprised them on course, and she won.
“A couple of years ago, we took a horse (Tapildoodledo) down to Sydney for the Tulloch Stakes (Gr.2, 2000m), it was the lead-up to the Derby and a Group Two. We’d set him up for the race and he managed to win at Rosehill, which was a huge thrill.”
Laxon was the first to present the idea of an apprenticeship to Taplin, and after assessing his options, returning to his home country appealed, albeit with a big shift in climate.
“About two years ago, Sheila asked me how light I was, and I was quite light, so she said ‘why don’t you be a jockey?’,” he said.
“I thought I’d give it a go, but in Queensland, it takes a long time to get the paperwork and everything through to become an apprentice. Dad knows Rick Williams really well, so he gave him a ring and because Rick has horses with Stephen, he pointed us in his direction, which was a big help.
“I’ve been here for about two months and I don’t mind the cold, so it’s not too bad, but it is a hell of a difference coming from a very, very hot summer in Queensland over the last six months or so.
“It’s a bit of a shock to the body, but I’m getting used to it now.”
Taplin hopes to continue his winning momentum at Pukekohe on Wednesday, with three rides secured across the meeting. The first of those, Intoxicated, will represent the Marsh barn in the Stella Artois 1600, while Ortega lines up in the Trackside.co.nz 1400.
“I’ve got three rides at Pukekohe at the moment, then I’ll speak to Stephen in the morning about whether I’ll go down to Trentham or up to Ruakaka on Saturday,” Taplin said.
“I’ve ridden both horses quite a lot in trackwork and Intoxicated is probably my best chance of the day, he’s working well and is in good form. Ortega won a couple of starts ago and she’ll be a fair chance as well, she’ll relish the ground there.”
Completing his book of rides is Arjay’s Flight, a Shaun Phelan-trained gelding contesting the Horizon By SkyCity 1600.