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By Abby Delucyk

After piloting Paths Of Glory to success in the 2020 Wyong Cup, Group 1 winning jockey Rachel King has gone on to adopt and retrain this English import to showjumping victory.

Formerly trained by Michael and Richard Freedman, Paths of Glory (or better known as POG), instantly stole Rachel’s heart after she rode him in his second start.

“I always had a passion for equestrian as I did a lot of showjumping as a kid but just never thought about having a thoroughbred of my own. Just from the first time I rode him, he just felt different. Straight away I asked if I could take him on after his racing career as he was the only one I wanted to have,” King said.

This duo’s bond deepened as Rachel became POG’s regular jockey in which they went on to place in Group one’s and have multiple wins in front of a home crowd at Royal Randwick.

Photo: Bradley Photos

After 24 starts, Paths of Glory officially retired from the track on Rachel’s birthday after suffering a minor tendon injury and was rehomed to Rachel after seeking approval from owners, China Horse Club.

“He had a good break after that to recover and then started in work. It’s been over a year now and he has really turned his hand to showjumping which is what I have always enjoyed.”

“Because I hadn’t done showjumping in years though, we both were learning on the go and going on the journey together,” Rachel said.

This journey has so far taken this duo to multiple competitions and training days in which POG is consistently competing in *1m classes.

“He is such a good horse to have as he is low maintenance which fits into my racing schedule. It doesn’t matter when I ride him, he is always the same and doesn’t get too fresh. I’m only doing it for a bit of fun, so he is truly a great horse to have,” Rachel said.

Although extremely happy with her companion POG, Rachel hasn’t ruled out the possibility of expanding her showjumping team to include other off the track Thoroughbreds.

“If I find one at the races, I keep an eye on them. I’m just waiting for the right one to turn up and to have the same feeling as I did with POG,” Rachel concludes.