Apprentice jockey Caitlin Hollowood achieved a significant career milestone with Prestige Forever’s victory at Caulfield Heath.
After accumulating 33 wins across country and provincial tracks in Victoria and New South Wales, Hollowood celebrated her first metropolitan success aboard the Julius Sandhu-trained Prestige Forever in the Sportsbet Feed Handicap (1500m) on Wednesday.
“It’s unreal,” Hollowood commented. “For a second, I thought we were beaten, but he really fought back and really dug in deep. I’m so happy to get the win, especially for Julius too. It was my first ride for him, so we’re starting off in a good way.”
Prestige Forever ($12), despite starting from the widest barrier, was challenged in the home straight but managed to fight back and defeat the Tom Dabernig-trained stablemates Dantooine ($4.40) and Corro ($17) by a short-head.
The colt, Prestige Forever, began his career with the David Brideoake and Matt Jenkins stable, where he notably won the Listed St Albans Stakes at Moonee Valley as a two-year-old.
He was subsequently transferred to Matt Laurie when Brideoake retired from training, before heading to Sandhu’s Cranbourne base.
Sandhu noted that considerable effort was required from Hollowood during her first ride for the stable on a horse that had previously shown a tendency to not always give its best.
“We asked a lot of her as this guy had been taking the ‘mickey’ back home,” Sandhu revealed. “We know he’s talented, but he has a bit of a good old think, so we just had to go and do something different. We drew the outside barrier, and I said to give him a good squeeze and get him to the front. I said to be aggressive, and she was, and she rated him well in front. Credit to the horse. He was headed at that furlong mark, but he fought deep and it’s good for the connections, and hopefully that’s the making of him. As a two-year-old he showed plenty but did not always have his mind on the job.”
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