On Slick for a First

Teenage jockey Samantha Collett — who in only three years has won more than 100 races — rode Sir Slick in the $AU2 million Emirates Doncaster Mile at Royal Randwick, the “biggest race” she’s ever ridden in and the first time three women jockeys have contested an Australian Group One race, including another New Zealander, Samantha Spratt, 21. Collett, 19, doesn’t complete her apprenticeship, with leading trainer Mark Walker, until May 2010, but has established herself as one of New Zealand’s most outstanding jockeys. Sir Slick, trained by Graham Nicholson, is New Zealand racing’s warhorse. The six-time Group One winner has been in full training since August, competing in 17 races during this period. Collett is the daughter of top riders Jim Collett and Trudy Thornton.