Smiling Joe Hits 100
Date: 14 Jul 2022
Te Akau apprentice jockey Joe Kamaruddin recorded his 100thcareer win on Wednesday at Cambridge (poly-track).
Winning aboard Remington Lad (Rich Enuff) for trainers Lance O'Sullivan and Andrew Scott, Kamaruddin followed in the footsteps of former Te Akau apprentice Tegan Newman who celebrated her 100thcareer victory on 2 July at Ruakaka.
Understandably, Kamaruddin (aka Smiling Joe) was pleased to have achieved the milestone.
“I had to wait five weeks since Boomer won for me at Matamata, and I'm so happy,†he said. “I'm proud of myself and feeling more confident about what is to come.
“I never thought I would get to 100 wins this season, but I've had good support from my boss, David Ellis, other trainers and all the owners.
“I have been trying not to over-think and a lot of the times I was confident of winning races. Sometimes I would be too hard on myself, but when I just let the race happen it has been much better.â€
Fifth in the premiership and leading apprentice with 62 wins this season, Kamaruddin began riding in 2019 and highlights include victories on Te Akau stable-mates Markus Aurelius (Ghibellines) and Belle En Rouge (Burgundy), who tied for New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year with stable-mate Self Obsession (Shocking).
He registered a hat-trick of wins aboard Markus Aurelius in 2021, while Belle En Rouge provided his first of four stakes' wins last December in the Eulogy Stakes (Gr. 3, 1600m).
Kamaruddin made a significant impact in the Te Akau tally this season, notching 10 wins in January alone, while rewarding Mark Walker with his first stakes' success on return as Te Akau trainer when Amalfi Prince (Sebring) won the Manawatu Classic (Gr. 3, 2000m) in April.
“My boss, David Ellis, has supported me and put me on horses that had a good chance, and I have to thank Mark Walker and Jamie Richards,†Kamaruddin said.
“(Riding Master) Noel Harris is number one. He always protects me and explains things when he is teaching me. And Troy Harris, he is like my brother and always helping me when we're riding track work.
“Also Michael McNab, he is always nice to me in the jockey's room and talks about my rides and teaches me.
“Nicole Shailer, at the Te Akau stables, has helped me a lot with the horses and my partner Nardia (Zainal). Sometimes I'll come back from racing without a winner and she will say: “don't worry, Joe, you've got next weekâ€.
“I'm a young jockey and have a lot more learning to come. We have a lot of young apprentices and we are all trying hard to improve.â€
Kamaruddin is now under the leadership of Te Akau trainer Mark Walker, a premiership winner nine times in New Zealand and Singapore.
“First of all, Joe (Kamaruddin) is a great young man,†Walker said. “He's an excellent example of what hard work and determination can bring about.
“He had a pretty slow start to his apprenticeship as far as getting winners, but he kept trying his heart out, not just at work but race day as well, and once he got two or three winners everyone took note of just what a great attitude his has.
“Things have just continued to pick up for him. He's leading his peers in the apprentice premiership and at Te Akau we're all very proud of Joe.â€
Like many apprentices, Joe has benefitted from the opportunity presented to him by Te Akau principal David Ellis CNZM.
Kamaruddin 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, and more recently Michael Dee, Daniel Miller, Jasmine Fawcett, Chelsea Burdan, Tegan Newman, Wiremu Pinn, Nik Bakar, and Niranjan Parmar.
“Sometimes it takes time for these apprentices to get going, but I could see in Joe's riding this season that the penny had dropped and it was evident in the patience he was showing and the way the horses were running for him,†Ellis said.
“Joe works really hard and he's a great asset. We were able to make good use of his apprentice claim and with all his success that's now down to one-kilo.
“He's such a good person and very popular with everybody in the stable. He's a happy young guy, always smiling, has a great attitude and it's just so pleasing to see all his hard work being rewarded in the winner's circle.
“He rides excellent track work and a massive part of the team. We're very proud of him and I can see him continuing to improve and ride a lot more winners next season.â€
Back