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By Ray Hickson

Jeff Penza would ride more winners in a month than he’s had Group 1 rides in his career.

Jeff Penza with his Newcastle Cup trophy. (Pic: Steve Hart)

The chance to have the tag ‘Group 1 winning jockey’ next to his name hasn’t been something he’s actively chased but this situation is different.

The Covid 19 outbreak has changed the game for jockeys and after a Group 3 hat-trick at Newcastle a couple of weeks ago the 51-year-old says the timing, and the ride, is right.

“It’s a great opportunity,’’ he said.

“I don’t really focus on it, I’m happy to make my wages out at the provincial and country circuit. But something like this comes along, it pumps up the tyres so we’ll have a crack at it.”

In order to ride on TAB Epsom Day at Randwick on Saturday, Penza had to complete five days of isolation and, unless the restrictions scenario changes, when he wants to leave the metropolitan bubble he’ll need to repeat the process.

Penza is eager to continue his association with Chris Waller’s Newcastle Cup winner Great House in the Group 1 $750,000 Heineken Metropolitan (2400m) and he’ll also attempt to win the $1.5m TAB Epsom (1600m) on Ashman, his all the way Cameron Handicap winner for Kim Waugh.

Plus he’s picked up the Group 1 ride on Fangirl for Waller in the $750,000 Darley Flight Stakes (1600m).

“Once I got the ride on Great House I was more than happy to do it and it’s turned out pretty well,’’ he said.

Great House, a $16 chance with TAB on Wednesday, finally lived up to the promise he’s shown in winning at Newcastle and Penza is adamant there is more to come after not having everything his own way.

“We drew well and had a couple of stablemates directly inside me and I didn’t want to drive him to get around them so I took the sit, probably a pair further back than I wanted to,’’ he said.

“I had a horse over racing inside me and bumping into me, Great Horse is a strong horse as it is so it didn’t help. I could easily have been closer if it had panned out a bit different early.

“He popped out three wide coming to the turn and he gave me a great feel from there.

“It was a very muddling tempo, I’m hoping for a bit more tempo and there’s a good chance of a bit of sting out of the track.”

The last Newcastle Cup winner, and the only in the last 30 years, to win the Metropolitan was Glencadam Gold in 2012.

Penza’s Epsom ride Ashman will also have a bit of history against him as he attempts to be just the second Cameron winner to take out the $1.5m feature Randwick mile – Excellerator in 2002 is the only to achieve it so far.

There’s no pressure on him, though, as the gelding is a $101 chance and Penza said based on his Newcastle win he is relying on the horse relaxing a lot better than he did up north given he’ll be looking to cross from the outside gate.

“He’s just going to keep rolling forward, everyone knows how hard he goes and they’d be crazy to go with him,’’ he said.

Great House wins the Newcastle Cup on September 17

“I’ll just let him stride that first furlong to make sure he crosses no problems and ease him up as much as I can. Hopefully he can find his rhythm.”

That was something Ashman took a while to find and Penza admitted he thought he had little chance when turning for home in the Cameron but the six-year-old just kept fighting.

“I thought he went too hard. Down the back straight I was a passenger for a couple of furlongs then about the 800m he came back a little bit,’’ he said.

“But he really dug deep, it was a pleasant surprise that he put in down the straight after going that hard early.

“He’s going to need to be at his best, he can’t be stringing them out and going hard or he’ll fall in a hole.”

The jockey’s only Group 1 placing to date, from just the 13 rides, came in the 2015 Epsom on Sons Of John who ran third behind Winx.

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday's TAB Epsom meeting at Randwick