Queensland-based jockey Nozi Tomizawa is going to cover more territory than any other jockey riding this weekend as he rides in three different states in as many days.
One of the states he will compete in is Victoria, when he heads to Flemington to ride Spirit Of Zero in the Rod Johnson Handicap (1400m) for his friend Yassy Nishitani.
Gold Coast-based Tomizawa started his weekend at Coffs Harbour in New South Wales on Friday, after completing a three-hour drive to fulfil his engagement for one ride, a fourth placing aboard Typhoon Amber.
Then he was back in the car to drive 400 kilometres back to Brisbane and stay for the night before flying to Melbourne, although he will leave his car in the northern state as he has two rides at the Sunshine Coast on Sunday.
After staying the night in Melbourne, Tomizawa will fly back to Brisbane on Sunday morning before heading north to the Sunshine Coast, saying travelling is part of his job as a jockey.
Tomizawa said he will ride Spirit Of Zero as he is a long-time friend of his Launceston-based trainer Nishitani, who rang him six weeks ago about this ride.
“We became good friends about 15 years ago as we were both apprentices in Queensland,” Tomizawa said.
Nishitani has been filming Spirit Of Zero’s trackwork and sending it back to him, after winning the feature Gold Sovereign Stakes at Launceston in February and then finishing well back in the VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes.
According to Tomizawa, the key to Spirit Of Zero is to get him to settle, which didn’t happen when he last raced at Flemington. Spirit Of Zero is a $41 chance with Sportsbet.
Tomizawa has had one ride at Flemington, when he finished 11th on Sylpheed in the 2019 Standish Handicap.
He also counts Craig Williams and Damian Lane as good friends, but while neither will be riding at Flemington, he intends to contact Williams for advice on how to ride the track.
“Craig, Michael Cahill and myself are all good friends and we stay in touch,” he said.
Tomizawa moved to Australia to become an apprentice jockey more than 20 years ago and has ridden almost 700 winners, including 70 in the city, which is made up of Brisbane and Adelaide successes.