Raceday Debut for Joe

Te Akau Apprentice Joe Kamaruddin is a dedicated young man with a big future in the racing industry.

Born in Malaysia, Joe is the only one of his family of nine to have made a career out of working with horses.  Having always had a passion for horses, he first entered the industry when working for Singapore trainer Steven Burridge for approximately two years before making the move to New Zealand to join Te Akau. 

Joe has a great work ethic and eagerness to learn and to underline that determination, he arrived in New Zealand with little English - however with the intentions of becoming an apprentice, he knew this had to improve and he set his mind to this task. Improve his English certainly has, and Joe now has proceeded to ride trials and is about to graduate to race day riding!

Joe's alarm goes off at 3:10am each morning and Joe has a smile on his face from the moment he wakes. Joe's morning starts from that moment as he arrives at the stable shortly after.  He then proceeds to get his first horse for the morning out, groomed and saddled. Joe can ride up to 15 horses a morning!

Once finished riding Joe will help the rest of the team with general responsibilities including the feeding of our horses before heading home for a well-deserved nap!  Returning to the stable at 1pm, Joe then checks on the horses to ensure they are all happy, having been well fed and watered and also having had a stretch of their legs. When he is sure that the horses are settled for the evening ahead, Joe returns home and usually enjoys a movie before bed, ready to be recharged for what tomorrow will bring.

Te Akau is proud to have Joe as an important member of the Matamata team - his attention to detail and love for the horse will carry him in good stead as he prepares to make his race debut aboard Richard Of Yorke on Thursday (today) at Awapuni. Joe also rides Dolce Amore on what will be a milestone day for him and his career.

Te Akau's Paul Richards and Joe Kamaruddin developed a close working association when campaigning the team in the South Island late last year - and as trainer Jamie Richards notes: “Joe is full of natural talent. He just has to work hard and he will see the results for certain".

Back