A couple of weeks after securing her second Melbourne apprentices’ premiership, Katelyn Mallyon is striving for another milestone on Saturday.
Mallyon partners the David Bourne-trained Zamorar in the Group Three Aurie’s Star Handicap at Flemington and hopes to land her maiden stakes race success.
The 20-year-old has been close to stakes wins in a few Listed races but said if she could guide Zamorar to win the Aurie’s Star it would be the perfect start to her season with spring on the doorstep.
“It would be really good to get a Group race win on the board and then go into the spring and try to win one of the bigger ones,” Mallyon said.
Mallyon, the only apprentice with a ride in the Aurie’s Star, rode Zamorar to a first-up win over 1000m at Flemington last month.
Zamorar is on the second line of Aurie’s Star Handicap betting behind Group One winner Tiger Tees and Mallyon believes the multiple stakes placegetter has the ability to challenge the favourite.
Zamorar has a win and three minor placings from five starts down the straight at Flemington, with his only unplaced run being a 1-3/4 length fourth to star colt Sepoy in the Group One Coolmore Stud Stakes in 2011.
“The topweight (Tiger Tees) is a classy horse and has some good form around him, but so does my horse,” Mallyon said.
“I think the best part about him is that he’s such a good straight horse.”
Mallyon rode 31 city winners in Melbourne in the 2013/14 season to finish equal fifth in the senior jockeys’ premiership and added a second apprentices’ title to the one she won two seasons earlier.