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By Ray Hickson

It started out as a joke but star apprentice Dylan Gibbons has made pointing at the camera after a winner his trademark.

James McDonald has his 'Usain' lightning bolt, Hugh Bowman owns the ‘she’s apples’, and thanks to Corey Brown the 21-year-old has his own return to scale celebratory gesture.

Sometimes it comes with a serious look on Gibbons’ face but he said it’s evolved from being a cheeky dig at Brown (pictured left), who is Racing NSW’s head jockey coach, to something of a mark of respect.

“It’s just so I don’t look as awkward on camera,’’ Gibbons said.

“Corey Brown used to do it and I jokingly said I’d steal it off him.

"I did it once or twice and he sent me a message to say it’s mine now and to keep it going.

“It’s sort of like (Hugh) Bowman’s ‘she’s apples’, Corey would always point at the camera and I just did it as a joke. It was a bit of fun but I’ve just kept doing it.

“Corey’s been great to me so it’s pretty cool to keep that going for him.”

Gibbons is back in action with nine rides at Rosehill on Saturday after a week on the sidelines through suspension, which he sees as a timely mental freshen up going into the final month of the season.

He holds a two win lead over Zac Lloyd (63 to 61) in the apprentice premiership race and he’s hoping to hit the ground running with genuine chances early in the day before partnering some well fancied unfamiliar horses in the second half of the card.

Powerful Peg let Gibbons down a little with her first-up run at Warwick Farm but he’s expecting a lot more in the Kia Ora Farnan Handicap (1300m).

The filly was beaten 2-3/4 lengths by Step Aside when finishing sixth and he puts it down to condition giving out over the 1300m fresh.

“I don’t know Kris (Lees) had many options and she probably only needed 1100m or 1200m,’’ he said.

“By the time I got to the furlong and I needed her to go again she was coming to the end of it. It didn’t look great but I think it was just fitness taking its toll.

“But she’s a little ripper, she tries her heart out and she’s got some ability to go with it too.”

He said Semana had to do a little more work than is ideal to find the lead when run down by Resonator at Rosehill a month ago but was impressed with how she fought.

While the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained filly, $2 with TAB on Thursday, is a likely leader in the Agency Real Estate Handicap (1400m) he’d prefer not to have to press her to find that spot again.

“I had to offset how the track was playing last start so I’m not keen to be where I was in the run,’’ he said.

“She’ll give herself the chance to be up on speed again and looks like another great hope.”

There was no fluke in the win by Bubba’s Bay second-up from a spell and Gibbons is confident she can overcome some obstacles in the Rosehill Bowling Club Handicap (1100m).

Semana runs second at Rosehill on June 2

She was too strong for early favourite Hi Dubai in the Kensington race just over two weeks ago and with the class rise is worse off at the weights for the half a length win.

“I was sort of disappointed in her first start but showed a massive improvement and felt like a completely different horse the other day,’’ he said.

“Once the challengers came she kept responding. (Hi Dubai) is second-up, she’s third-up so they are on par fitness wise so hopefully the weight swing isn’t enough but it felt like she was holding her at bay.”

Gibbons said he’ll have to do his homework on two more of his early favourites, Victorian galloper Brayden Star and Annabel Neasham’s in-form Fawkner Park, who have both drawn wide as he’ll be partnering them for the first time.

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday's Rosehill meeting