He now has a new king in the form of jockey Lachlan who performed on the big stage to give him his first Group 1 success as a horse trainer
Johnny Get Angry, a $ 26 chance, was able to fend off frontrunner Young Werther and Hit The Shot, who won the VRC Derby at Flemington on Saturday in what is a remarkable outsider story
Not only was it Pagan’s first big win as a horse trainer, after just four months of training, it was also the first Group 1 victory for the 22-year-old apprentice jockey King.
Pagan, two-time AFL Premiership coach at North Melbourne, never doubted putting the inexperienced King on Johnny Get Angry’s back, knowing from his coaching days that giving youngsters an opportunity will pay off
« It’s a great lesson in life and sport. You give a young man an opportunity and they’ll pay you back in spades, » Pagan said on SEN Breakfast
« He’s a good rider, (a) very good rider He rides 100-1 pops around Kyneton and Kilmore and you wonder why he (doesn’t) ride the winners
« If you put Damien Oliver, Craig Williams and Ben Melham on the horses he rode, they’ll probably end up the same way
« I’m so glad I went with him, he was under enormous pressure, I was under pressure, everyone was saying you have to put on a senior jock, four or five jocks rang and wanted him ride and I’m happy to stay with him «
Pagan admits that the desire to compete as a trainer was always with him and was a big part of becoming a horse trainer
« I’m with the horses now and want to compete. I haven’t lost that competitive motivation, » he added
King was born to be a Group 1 jockey because his father Steven was a two-time Derby-winning hoop champion
Getting a chance for a new coach allowed him to fulfill his dream sooner than expected and he couldn’t be more ecstatic
« It’s a surreal feeling right now. I haven’t quite let it in, it’s amazing, I can’t believe it, » King said on SEN’s Time On
« I was a little lost for words after the race, but I believed in the horse and he ran accordingly so yes I’m so happy and thrilled for Denis
« It was a really long trip, but I can’t believe we really did it. It’s a bit of a fairy tale »
King admitted he was worried about losing the horse race leading to the Derby, as apprentices often do not have the opportunity to participate in Group 1 races without their demands
« Unfortunately in racing it happens all the time and as bad as it sounds, at the end of the day if Denis put him a senior (jockey) I couldn’t really argue, » admitted King
« They had (the) resumes and I didn’t and Denis went through a different industry, he went through the AFL and the AFL, young people have opportunities and if they compromise on opportunities , they reap the rewards »
With a first Group 1 victory now hidden to be kept, King will look forward to the Melbourne Cup day on Tuesday where he will ride Goldifox (Race 9) and Holbien (Race 10)
Victoria Derby, horse racing, Denis Pagan, Melbourne Cup Carnival
News from around the world – AU – Pagan has a new king as Lachie delivers Derby success to him
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
