Visiting English apprentice Kieran Shoemark was hoping to make the type of impact his good friend and house mate Oisin Murphy did in Melbourne a year ago when he ventured the Australia for a summer stint.
And he is making a decent fist of it.
The 18-year-old notched his first city winner at Sandown on Wednesday and quickly backed it up a race later for a winning double.
Shoemark had already made his impact at the provincial races with two winning trebles in Victoria, at Geelong on Boxing Day and at Seymour on Tuesday.
“It’s a privilege to get a city winner,” Shoemark said.
“I’m loving my stay here.”
On loan to the Danny O’Brien stable from English trainer Andrew Balding as Irish apprentice Murphy was a year ago, Shoemark brought up his milestone city win with an all-the-way success on the O’Brien-trained Zahspeed in a benchmark 70 (1800m).
In a contrasting ride, Shoemark settled midfield on the fence on the Nigel Blackiston-trained Heez Notorious in a 1600m benchmark 70 and arrived just in time to win by a narrow margin.
Shoemark’s Australian stay was scheduled to end in mid-January but he revealed it had been extended until February 1.
Murphy, Britain’s champion apprentice of 2014, rode 13 winners from 89 rides in Australia highlighted by a Listed win in the Bagot Handicap on the Blackiston-trained Outback Joe.
Shoemark said he had not set himself a goal of how many winners he wanted to ride during his stint but said it had been a brilliant experience so far.
“When I came out here I knew Oisin made such a big impact last year, I wanted to make a name for myself and make that impact like he did,” he said.
“I thought it was quite impressive the amount of winners he rode and I thought it would be very hard to match.
“But as long as I made half the impact he did, I thought I’d be all right.”
Shoemark, who rode 21 winners during his first season in the UK last year, will have his momentum halted for a week while he serves a seven-meeting careless riding suspension.
Article from justhorseracing.com.au