Smiling Joe Realising his Dream

Dennis Ryan for Matamata's "Scene" reports:

Smiling Joe realising his jockey dream.

A wide smile has never been far from Joe Kamaruddin's face, but just lately it has become a permanent fixture as he realises his dream to become a jockey.

A decade ago Malaysian-born Joe surprised his non-racing family when he said he wanted to be a jockey. His first step was to spend nearly three years with Singapore trainer Steven Burridge, before being encouraged by fellow Malaysian Shafiq ‘Suppy' Rusof to follow the same path he had taken and move to New Zealand for greater opportunities.

That included signing up with Te Akau Racing, but it was to be some time before Joe's dream was to come to fruition. He had his first raceday ride in April 2019, however success proved elusive and it took more than a year and another 47 rides before his breakthrough in the final week of the 2019-20 season.

“Suppy had many wins when he was a jockey in New Zealand but for me it was not so easy,” Joe told Scene. “I nearly gave up, but all the time I was watching replays of my rides, wondering where I went wrong and asking what I need to do.

“Suppy said ‘You just relax, believe you can do it', and then I have my first win. After one more month I get another win and now I keep riding winners, I have more confidence and my horses are winning.”

Since that first win in July, Joe has added another 18 from 160 rides in the season to date, including a double at Matamata in mid-March and another brace at Te Rapa on Saturday. Now aged 29, his mainstay has been Jamie Richards-trained horses carrying Te Akau's tangerine colours, which includes his two weekend winners, Summer Monsoon and Leaderboard.

Both horses benefitted from Joe's three-kilogram apprentice claim, reducing Summer Monsoon's weight in the open sprint to a dangerous 51kg, and last-start winner Leaderboard's impost when racing out of his benchmark grading to 58.5kg. He drew plaudits for his ride on Summer Monsoon to secure a cosy trip from the inside gate and then time his run perfectly to beat the favourite More Wonder.

Leaderboard required a different skill-set in his 2400-metre assignment, getting well back in the big field, hitting a flat spot with 600 metres to run, but under a busy ride managing to outstay his rivals for a narrow victory. Joe's four mounts on the day also included a second placing on the Richards-trained Top Brass to complete a stable quinella headed by the Opie Bosson-ridden Supreme Khan.

“Both my wins were very good and Top Brass tried very hard too,” he says. “He drew wide and had to use up a lot of petrol to get across. Opie had to work hard to beat us, so I was very happy.”

Opie Bosson is just one of the leading senior jockeys, along with the likes of Danielle Johnson and Troy Harris, who ride regularly for Te Akau, but that doesn't faze the stable apprentice. “Jamie always tells me to use my brain, believe in myself and not worry about Opie, Troy and Danielle - I am out there to ride my own race and believe that I am king!”

Joe's partner Nardia Zainal is also employed by Te Akau as one of the stable's ground staff, which adds up to a lifestyle that has them on the same page. While her time is taken with stable duties and caring for the horses, Joe is a key member of Te Akau's track riding staff on top of raceday and trial riding.

“Each morning I ride at least 10 horses, some days 12 or 13, which is good for my fitness,” he adds. “My weight is always good - I weigh 50.8 kilos right now - which is a big help, it means I can use my full claim. We are very happy here in Matamata, it is a good life. From a long time ago dreaming to be a jockey and now I am here and my dream has come true, so what I am thinking now is that we want to stay in New Zealand.”

Not that family in Malaysia is ever far from their minds. “Every couple of days we are ringing our families. I am successful as a jockey now, and my Mum and Dad are very happy for me.  They know what my dream was and that I have tried very hard, so that makes them very pleased.”