Latest News

By Greg Prichard

Mollie Fitzgerald is going all-out to win this season’s Racing NSW Rising Star series for apprentice jockeys and will begin her campaign at the Taree meeting on Sunday.

Fitzgerald will ride the Noel Mayfield-Smith-trained Selfless Valour in the Stacks Law Firm Class 1 Handicap - Heat Of The Rising Star over 1300 metres.

The four-year-old mare has had six starts for a win and three placings and two of her last three starts have resulted in a win and a second at Ballina.

Selfless Valour is drawn beautifully in barrier four, which should allow Fitzgerald to place her in the first half of the 12-horse field in the run.

Mollie Fitzgerald

TAB rates Selfless Valour a $3.90 chance in early betting on the race.

Fitzgerald, the daughter of former jockey Mal Fitzgerald, spent much of her time growing up at Taree and nearby Wingham.

She began her riding career in August of last season and finished it with 48.5 winners - all at country tracks.

The 22-year-old has continued her meteoric rise this season and in less than four months has already almost reached her winning total from last season.

She has ridden 43.5 winners - 39.5 of them at country tracks and four at the provincials. Her total leads the NSW country jockeys’ premiership and is third-best in the NSW premiership at all tracks.

Fitzgerald was originally indentured to Taree trainer Tony Ball, who gave her plenty of opportunities on his horses which quickly lead to interest from other trainers when she began regularly riding winners.

She recently switched to the powerful stable of co-trainers Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald at Warwick Farm in Sydney in a tremendous career move for her.

The immediate plan is for Fitzgerald to continue honing her skills by riding more at provincial meetings ahead of eventually having a crack at making her name in the hugely competitive Sydney arena.

But the Racing NSW Rising Star series is a huge target for her as well.

There are 16 races in the series and apprentices compete at a variety of tracks in the country as well as the provincials and in the city.

Fitzgerald finished sixth in last year’s series, which was won by Anna Roper.

The first heat of this year’s series was conducted at Wagga on November 1. Fitzgerald didn’t ride down there, but she plans to get to as many of the 15 remaining meetings as she can.

“I think it would be a great series to win - great for my career if I could do it,” she said ahead of Sunday’s meeting.

“I think it’s important for any apprentice to try to have a crack at it if they can.”

*First race 1.45pm. Gates open 12.30pm. Full TAB and bookmaker facilities. The Turf Bistro inside the Winning Post Function Centre and inside and outside bars open. General admission $10. Shannons Insurance Taree Classic Car Raceday, including trackside display of fabulous classic cars and free racecourse entry to Shannons Club members. See Manning Valley Race Club Facebook page for more details.

All the fields, form and replays for Sunday's Taree meeting