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By Geoff Newling

Tamworth Jockey Club will host some of the state’s best young apprentices at next Monday’s seven-race TAB meeting (6 February).

The TJC received a large nomination list of 147 today for Monday’s meeting where one of the highlights will be a heat of the 2016-17 Racing NSW/TAFE Western Sydney Institute Rising Star Apprentice Series; this heat sponsored by Shay Brennan Constructions.

The series is in full swing with Nyssa Burrells leading by a point from Blaike McDougall with another point to Andrew Adkins as the series headed to today’s fifth race at Taree. Jason Devrimol celebrated his first Rising Star Series win after taking out heat 13 at Goulburn on Monday.

Devrimol won with the $8 outsider Il Dominatore for trainer Matthew Smith, with fellow apprentice jockeys Andrew Adkins and Nick Heywood rounding out the placings.

The final heat of the series, to promote vocational training and education in NSW, will be held at Hawkesbury on May 30.

Tamworth’s heat follows this Monday with Coffs Harbour (Feb 27), Warwick Farm (March 1), Wagga (Mar 7), Goulburn (Mar 27), Kembla Grange (Mar 23), Warwick Farm (April 5), Newcastle (Apr 20), Coffs Harbour (May 5) and Dubbo (May 15) racing leading into the final heat at Hawkesbury at the end of May.

TJC general manager, Damon Sullivan, said the series is decided on a points system, seven for a win, five for a runner-up, three for third and one point for riding.

“It’s great for the young apprentices,” Damon Sullivan said. “A great promotion for the kids.”

He hopes the Tamworth heat, the $20,000 Shay Brennan Constructions Benchmark 60 Handicap (1400m), can help some of the HNWRA based apprentices move up the table.

Scone apprentice Vad Bolozhinskyi is currently seventh with 11 points and coming off a treble at last Saturday’s Bingara Cup meeting. Highest placed of the HNWRA apprentices is Mikayla Weir. She sits on 14 points, equal fourth with Nick Heywood.

Last year’s Rising Star winner, Travis Wolfgram, is way down the order in equal 26th spot with 3pts.

RISING STAR TABLE 19 - Nyssa Burrells 18 - Blaike McDougall 17 - Andrew Adkins 14 - Mikayla Weir, Nick Heywood 13 - Matthew McGillivray 11 - Vad Bolozhinskyi 10 - Brock Ryan, Megan Taylor, Chris Williams 8 - Jackson Murphy, Jason Devrimol

View the nominations with form and race replays for Tamworth here