Hayley Hits 100

Te Akau apprentice jockey Hayley Hassman (20) recorded her 100th win on 30 October at Ashburton.  Hassman achieved the feat in just her third season riding, while in a burgeoning career that continues to flourish, she has racked up accolades and awards along the way.

Hassman recorded two wins from five rides in Amateur Rider races before becoming a professional jockey, joined Te Akau in late 2024, and was accepted in the first intake for the Elite Jockey Programme in March 2025.

Developed by New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) and overseen by riding masters Noel Harris, Kim Clapperton and Jason Laking, the three-year programme includes guidance from leading high-performance sports personal, in fitness, psychology, and diet.

Hassman won the The Lindsay Family Champion Apprentice Award at the Matamata Racing Awards in 2025 (and also 2026) before being awarded the Toby Autridge Trophy for Most Promising First Year Apprentice at the Milan Park 2025 (Northern Region) Apprentice Jockey Awards.

While at the recent Milan Park 2026 (Northern Region) Apprentice Jockey Awards, she was presented with the Taiki Yanagida Trophy for Most Dedicated to Success.

Having also spent time at the Te Akau stables at Cranbourne in Victoria, Hassman drew praise from senior trainer Mark Walker, who oversees the stable in Melbourne, and also works in partnership with Sam Bergerson at the NZ stables in Matamata and Riccarton.

“It’s a great achievement for someone to have reached 100 wins in such a short space of time,” Walker said.

“Her dedication has been there from day one and she’s riding with the maturity of a senior rider, which includes being proficient with the stick in both the right and left hand.

“She’s really honing her craft, sums up a race very well and has good awareness, and very rarely gets beaten in a tight finish.

“She’s got a great attitude and personality, a pleasure to have indentured to our stables, and she’s only going to keep improving.

“To ride 100 winners so quickly as I say, really is testament to her dedication, persistence and work ethic.”

Hassman finished last season 11th on the overall Jockey Premiership, and was the third leading apprentice, with 59 wins and over $1.6 million in stakes' money earnings, and she currently sits in eighth place with 19 wins this season.

Te Akau principal Sir David Ellis has always promoted young people in the Thoroughbred Industry and while former apprentice and current stable rider Opie Bosson ONZM heads the list of star jockeys – having reached an incredible milestone of 100 Group One wins – there are a lot of success stories.

Hassman joins a growing list of apprentice jockeys that Ellis has helped on their way, including: Opie Bosson, Vinny Colgan, Troy Harris, Samantha Collett, Daniel and Emma Stackhouse, KC Walters, Shafiq Rusof, Amber Edmeads, Michael Dee, Kif Toh, Daniel Miller, Jasmine Fawcett, Chelsea Burdan, Tegan Newman, Wiremu Pinn, Dennis Tan, Joe Kamaruddin, Nik Bakar, Niranjan Parmar, Hakim Kamaruddin, Yusoff Fadzli, Jess Allen, and Cooper Stumbles.