Northern apprentice jockey Ace Lawson-Carroll is enjoying a breakthrough season, which was further enhanced at Wingatui on Sunday when recording his 100th win in the saddle.
The South Auckland-based hoop brought up the milestone aboard the Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson-trained Cool Aza Rene (Cool Aza Beel) in the opening race at the Dunedin meeting, and he was duly rapt with the result.
“I knew I was on the best horse in the field and it was a relief to get there more than anything,” Lawson-Carroll said.
The 20-year-old has experienced his best season to date, currently sitting on 43 wins, including his first stakes victory aboard the Samantha Finnegan-trained Bona Sforza (Written By) in the Listed Welcome Stakes (1000m) at Riccarton Park last month, and he has accrued more than $1.4 million in stakes.
It easily surpasses his previous best tally, and he is hoping to improve on it before season’s end.
“To get that monkey off my back and get that first stakes win on Bona Sforza for Samanthan Finnegan was great, and to get my 100th winner was also a big highlight,” he said.
Lawson-Carroll is indentured to Byerley Park trainers Shaun and Emma Clotworthy, and he said he owes a lot of his success to the couple after they took a chance on him several years ago.
“Shaun and Emma are huge supporters of mine, I have been working for them for a long time” he said.
“I needed a job to keep me out of trouble. I went around Byerley Park and met Shaun and Emma and carried on from there.
“I worked for a year here on weekends and I developed a love for the sport. I was riding the odd pony around and kept developing from there.
“Shaun has been a great help and is a great mentor of mine, with horses and life in general.”
While the Clotworthys introduced him to the world of horse racing, horses weren’t anything new to Lawson-Carroll, who grew up riding in the Bay of Plenty.
“I hacked around on bush ponies and brumbies around paddocks back home (Whakatane), and went pig hunting on horseback,” he said.
Lawson-Carroll has been pleased with his progression as a rider and is proud of the achievements he has earned this year, but admits things are starting to slow down as the calendar heads into winter.
“This season I have jumped out of my skin a little bit during the summertime,” he said. “Now that the wet tracks are coming, I am finding it a little bit harder with not having much of a claim, but I am seeing a lot more progress in my riding.”
Bona Sforza’s stakes success was a clear highlight for Lawson-Carroll this season, and he is hoping he can retain the ride aboard the filly in the new term, with Finnegan eyeing some stakes targets in the spring.
“Bona Sforza could be going to the Guineas later (Gr.1, 1600m) in the year, so I am definitely looking forward to her if I get to stick with her, and hopefully I can,” he said.