When Brett Prebble’s phone rang early on Golden Slipper morning, he feared the worst.
The caller was Adrian Bott, trainer of Prebble’s Slipper mount, Red Resistance. This could only be bad news.
“I had been at trackwork that morning and I had seen Adrian Bott there,” Prebble said.
“But after riding a few gallops, I went home then the call from Adrian came around 6.30am.
“I broke out in a cold sweat straight away, I knew something had to be wrong, Adrian never rings that time of morning.”
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Bott revealed Red Resistance had an elevated temperature and was out of the Golden Slipper. The brilliant colt had been one of the favourites for the world’s richest juvenile race.
“It was a kick in the guts but that’s racing,” Prebble said.
“Who knows how he would have gone in the Slipper although he had the right form around Cylinder.
“I think he would have been top four but Red Resistance did have a shocking gate and the winner, Shinzo, didn’t go around a horse to beat Cylinder.
“The Slipper has been a bit like that in recent years. The winner gets the midfield run, doesn’t go around a horse, conserves energy and is hard to beat.”
Despite the Slipper disappointment, Prebble found a silver lining: “These things happen, it never gets easier but you learn to handle it better,” he said.
“And Red Resistance could be a serious sprinter for the future.”
Red Resistance is back in pre-training with part-owner Henry Field of Newgate Farm believing the sky is the limit for the colt next season.
“He looks incredible, looks amazing, he’s a big, strong horse,” Field said.
“I would assume a race like the Golden Rose would be on the cards.
“The Everest is a race that (part-owner) Sir Owen Glenn says is one of the most important races he wants to win so if the horse is going well enough then I’m sure that is a possibility.”
Brett Prebble riding Red Resistance to victory earlier this year. Picture: Jeremy Ng-Getty Images
Red Resistance launched Prebble’s Sydney riding career with a Saturday Rosehill winner at his very first ride here in January.
Prebble, 45, hasn’t regretted his decision to leave his Melbourne base and make Sydney home last summer.
The champion jockey was struggling to get a ride in Victoria but has found a niche in Sydney racing.
At Rosehill Gardens on Saturday, Prebble has nine rides with five for champion trainer Chris Waller including last start Wagga Wagga Gold Cup winner Wicklow ($8) in the Listed $160,000 Lord Mayor’s Cup (2000m).
Prebble’s other Rosehill rides include the Joe Pride-trained Anagain, the $6 favourite for the Furphy Handicap (1200m).
In fact, most of Prebble’s rides are at single figure odds and are competitive chances.
“I’m happy going to work every day which is a nice feeling, it doesn’t feel like Groundhog Day,” Prebble said.
“I’m going to the races with nice rides, you can’t win every race so all I’m trying to do is give them every chance, keep my connections happy and then I have done my job.”
Prebble conceded it was a gamble moving to Sydney earlier this year but he could sense an opportunity for him in Sydney racing when Hall of Famer Hugh Bowman decided to ride in Hong Kong.
“I felt there was going to be changes to the jockey roster,” Prebble said.
“I knew Hughie would go to Hong Kong and stay. He is too good a jockey not to do well there and once you have a bit of success in Hong Kong it becomes a very addictive place.
“With Hughie going, that’s leaves a big hole in Sydney racing given he is such an elite, experienced rider.
“Hughie also rode for Newgate who I ride for so some of those rides he was going to get I thought could flow off to me.
“Then Tommy (Berry) had that mishap (disqualification) as well so the timing was right to make the move.”
Brett Prebble gives a thumbs up after riding a winner at the Gosford stand-alone meeting this month. Picture: Jeremy Ng-Getty Images
It should come as no surprise Prebble has made it count in Sydney, riding 34 winners on all tracks including 16 metropolitan wins.
The champion jockey has a wealth of experience, having ridden over 2100 winners with 37 at Group level including the Melbourne Cup (Green Moon, 2012), Caulfield Cup (Incentivise, 2021), Golden Slipper (Crystal Lily, 2010), plus major race wins in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.
Prebble, a former two-time Melbourne premier jockey, rode with considerable success for 15 consecutive seasons in Hong Kong.
“In Hong Kong, there is 1250 horses, you get to know every horse and the way they race, you get to know the form, and you get to know how the jockeys ride,” he explained.
“It becomes more of a chess game in a race as you know so much about the horses and jockeys.
But Prebble admitted it took some time to readjust to the nuances of Australian racing when he returned home to Melbourne five years ago.
“Honestly, I really struggled to get my head around the amount of travelling and then not going to get a ride out it,” he said.
“In Hong Kong, if you rode a horse trackwork you would be riding it on raceday so you would know in advance what you are riding most meetings.
“What I found in Victoria there is so many jockeys and it is so competitive to get rides. You could drive hours for barrier trials or trackwork and not get the rides on raceday.”
Prebble then had a sensational 2021 spring carnival where he rode five Group 1 winners including a hat-trick of majors on Incentivise with the Makybe Diva Stakes, Turnbull Stakes and Caulfield Cup before his second to Verry Elleegant in the Melbourne Cup.
Brett Prebble celebrates after winning the Caulfield Cup with Incentivise. Picture: Vince Caligiuri-Getty Images
But Incentivise was retired due to injury with a record of nine wins from 13 starts and a suspicion we never saw the best of him.
“He was quite extraordinary,” Prebble said.
“When he won the Caulfield Cup, you got an idea he was nearly close to his top that day.
“What he did was bottled up in a short time but most horses couldn’t do that what he did in a lifetime. He was some horse, that’s for sure, he had a big engine on him.”
But when the rides dried up again for Prebble last year, he decided to make the move to Sydney racing.
“It’s different in Sydney because it is more structured and there are three sections (metropolitan, provincial and country),” he said.
“I mainly ride at meetings that are about an hour away from Sydney so it’s more convenient.
“My workload is still heavy, I’m at trackwork four or five times a week and often riding in races five days a week, but I’m really enjoying my riding again.”
BRETT PREBBLE
Age: 45
Wins: 2122
Group 1 wins: 37
Major wins:
Golden Slipper (Crystal Lily 2010)
Melbourne Cup (Green Moon 2012)
Caulfield Cup (Incentivise 2021)
Hong Kong International Sprint (Absolute Champion 2006, Sacred Kingdom 2009)
Champions Mile (Bullish Luck 2006, Sight Winner 2009, Contentment 2017)
Singapore International Sprint (Sacred Kingdom 2009, Lucky Nine 2013-14).
Yasuda Kinen (Bullish Luck 2006)
Rosehill rides Saturday:
R2: Poseidon Ruler ($13)
R3: Chase My Crown ($9.50)
R4: Robusto ($6)
R5: Ring Ahoy ($19)
R6: Token Capitalist ($7)
R7: Demarcay ($11)
R8: Podium Queen ($31)
R9: Wicklow ($8)
R10: Anagain ($6f)