Opie the Champion

Opie Bosson has been regarded as the benchmark jockey in New Zealand, and despite struggling with weight issues throughout his career he added a notable milestone during a season that reaped six Group One victories and took his tally to 65 in total.

Chasing down Hall of Fame legend
Lance O'Sullivan, who recorded 62 Group One victories, Bosson had levelled when
winning the Haunui Farm WFA Group One Classic (1600m) aboard Melody Belle
(Commands) in February at Otaki, before surpassing the mark on Yourdeel
(Dundeel) in the Sistema Stakes (Gr. 1, 1200m) and for good measure winning the
very next race on Melody Belle (Commands) in the Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes
(Gr. 1, 2000m) in March at Ellerslie. Both trained by Te Akau, where it all
began for Bosson as a 14 year-old apprentice, he made it 65 Group One wins when
Yourdeel completed the double and took out the Sires' Produce Stakes (Gr. 1,
1400m).

Bosson is clearly the leading rider at elite level this season in New Zealand, winning six Group Ones: two each aboard Melody Belle, Yourdeel, and Danzdanzdance (Mastercraftsman). A third of his total Group One wins have been for Te Akau and he has claimed the prestigious 2000 Guineas (Gr. 1, 1600m) seven times.

Now number one stable rider for Te Akau Racing, the feats Bosson attained must have appeared a world apart earlier in the season when on the sidelines and too heavy to ride.

“It wasn't a great start but Dave
(Ellis) and my wife (Emily) helped to motivate me and without them I probably
wouldn't have been able to get back on track,” Bosson said.

“I always wanted to get back, but
I knew how hard it was to get the weight off and I needed them to give me the
push. It took a lot of hard work, up at the farm (Te Akau Stud) training with
Dave. I started with a better diet and started training harder and once I saw
the results happening I definitely became more focussed.

“I spent a lot of time in the gym
on the treadmill and cross trainer, squats, burpees, all that sort of stuff,
and my fitness really improved.

“It was a huge advantage in my
riding. When you're fit it makes your mind a lot sharper and you can get more
out of a horse without pulling up from a race feeling exhausted. I was pulling
up as good as gold.”

Bosson married Trackside
presenter Emily Bosson (nee Murphy) at the end of 2017 and the couple welcomed
baby Max into the world in January this year.

“It's been huge motivation,”
Bosson said. “We moved onto a new farm a couple of days before Max was born and
we won the Karaka Million that week, so it was a big week. I want to make sure
Max has a really good upbringing and enjoys the farm life as well. So, I've got
to keep getting out there and riding winners to pay for the farm.

“With everything that was happening, the Karaka Million was probably my favourite win this season. Although it wasn't a Group One, wasting to get down and ride 54.5kgs and being a million dollar race was a highlight.”

Commenting on the Ellis purchase and Cambridge Stud owned Karaka Million (Restricted Listed, 1200 metres) winner Probabeel (Savabeel), who provided Te Akau and trainer Jamie Richards with a hat-trick in the race, Bosson said: “I think she's going to be very exciting next season as a three-year-old. She's got so much talent.”

Bosson has plans for a holiday, but thinks he will be ready for the commencement of next season in August.

“I'll keep ticking over at the
moment in New Zealand, but we're taking Max over to see his grandparents in
England on the 10 June, so I'll be away for a couple of weeks.

“I don't want to get too heavy
and want to be ready for the start of the season. But once I'm back I'll be
into the training and getting fit again for the new season with Te Akau.

“I think it's been an
unbelievable season for Jamie (Richards) and Te Akau. He's had big shoes to
fill and he's grabbed the opportunity with both hands in his first season as
sole trainer. He hasn't missed a beat, because there's a lot of pressure on him
and he's coped with it so well.

“I've got a lot of respect for him and his training and he's know every horse inside and out. When he tells you about one, you know it's on the mark.”

Surpassing the Group One record of a rider the class of O'Sullivan is a massive accomplishment and one that now resonates with Bosson, who has also won three Champion Jockey titles.

“It wasn't a goal initially, but
when I found out I was pretty close to it I was hungry to get it. I thought it
was a great achievement to knock him off because he was a freak.

“When Lance broke his leg I ended
up becoming stable rider for O'Sullivan's and Lance taught me a hell of a lot
while I was there.

“Obviously I now want to ride as
many Group One winners as I can. I want to help Te Akau become leading stable
as well, in stakes races, premiership, and prize money, and we'll have a lovely
bunch of two and three-year-olds coming through.

“I've also been impressed with
the yearlings and look forward to getting on them too. Dave (Ellis) buys very
good quality horses. He's got a great eye for a horse and it makes my job a lot
easier. He's bought three Karaka Million winners in a row and I've been lucky
enough to ride all three.”

Commenting on the achievements by
Bosson, Te Akau principal David Ellis said: “I'm really proud of the commitment
Opie showed to get his weight down and get fit. Believe me, he put in a lot of
hard work and once the middle of the season rolled around he was in full flight
and a pleasure to watch.

“He rode six Group One winners this season for the second time in his career and going back to the 2003-04 season he rode seven, which started off with Distinctly Secret in the Kelt Capital Stakes, which was a huge thrill for me because we bred the horse, and King's Chapel in the 2000 Guineas for us. It just shows his dominance at Group One level. He may not have ridden the most wins this season, but if we're rewarding excellence then I think six Group One wins gives him a really strong hand for the Champion Jockey title, especially when the next best was two.

“He's ridden 21 Group One winners for Te Akau and also won the Randwick Guineas on Gingernuts in Australia. He's a huge part of Te Akau Racing, especially the feedback he gives Jamie (Richards) on the horses he rides in work and at the trials and his professionalism rubs off on the whole team.”

Another Hall of Fame jockey, Noel
Harris, also understands the skills of Bosson in the saddle and although retired
from riding he often refers to him in his role as Riding Master at New Zealand
Thoroughbred Racing.

“He's just patient in a race and
I always say to the apprentices, less whip, you watch Opie Bosson, and I quote
him all the time,” Harris said.

“When he's on the right horse,
half way down (the straight) his horses just find another gear. He's a thinker
and rides for luck.

“Nine out of 10 of the
apprentices all want to be right there on the home turn and I always say them
that the winning post is not at the top of the straight. I say, you watch Opie
and I use a lot of his rides as examples. And with changing whip rules, Opie is
a rider that can get the best from a horse without using the whip a lot. Most
jockeys hit the panic button and they're off, and yet you get the magic riders
that sit quietly and then in the last 150m, bang, they're coming from midfield
to win.

“Opie has the X factor, horses
run for him and he's a kind rider and that goes a long way in racing. He's
world-class and he'd be successful anywhere.

“Some jockeys go out there and you can see they're tense, but Opie is good at hiding things like that and if he is tense then he doesn't show it. Obviously, you need the right horse to win the big races but to pull them off is another thing and the pressure is always on. He's a pressure rider, Opie, and I've always had a lot of respect for him as a rider. Horses just respond for him.”

Harris also took the time to relay a story about one of the greatest riders in the history of thoroughbred racing, Lester Piggott, who he rode with when the pair worked for Ivan Allan in Hong Kong.

“Lester Piggott is probably the
best I've ever ridden against. He just had magic hands,” Harris said. “Again,
that X factor and Opie has that too and it's their ability to get that little
bit more out of a horse than your average jockey.

“In a race one day, I was on the
favourite and following Lester and I thought right, we'll see how good you are.
He lent to one side, pushed the two out, bang, and I couldn't run him down and
he beat me by a nose. I took my hat off and thought that's the best I've seen.
He moved the horse without using his hands on the reins, just dropped to one
side, and the horse just responded. You had to see it to believe it.

“I got to know him quite well,
Lester, and when I rode my 2000^th winner he sent me a card. So, I
was elated to get one from Lester. His wife, Susan, was the backbone of him.
She was a lovely lady.”

Reflecting on the job of a
jockey, Harris said: “You're only as good as your last winner and you've got to
keep proving yourself. That's the hardest part, it's just never ending and good
jockeys keep putting pressure on themselves to win big races and if they don't
then it's disappointing. It's part and parcel of the job.

“I've always admired Opie. Some
of the good ones are regarded as a ‘lucky' rider, but in saying that an ounce
of luck is probably worth a ton of judgement and that what allows the good
riders to win the big races.”

In summary, Bosson has recorded 65 Group One wins, including five in Australia, 38 Group Two wins, 36 Group Three, and 60 listed races, while also registering two Singapore Group One victories, a Group Two, and two Group Threes.

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