3 minute read
Five weeks since winning the International Jockeys Challenge in Saudi Arabia, Caitlin Jones will be back racing at Morphettville tomorrow aboard the Will Clarken trained last start winner Bleriot.
Since returning home from her Dubai trip on Adelaide Cup day, jet lag and a bout of Covid has kept Caitlin Jones from work until the start of this week.
"The whole adventure was amazing but there's no place like home. It was nice to hit the ground on the plane a couple of weeks ago here in Adelaide and getting back to it here at the track," she said from Morphettville Friday morning.
"I landed lunchtime on Adelaide Cup day so I certainly felt the jet lag for a few days. Had a PCR test, returned to work on the Thursday, then unfortunately fell to Covid for a week so I spent another week sitting at home just relaxing, but got to spend time with the dogs and my family.
"I only returned back to work this recent Monday and been very busy since, so it's good to be back and busy."
Jones is still buzzing after describing the eight weeks she spent based in Dubai looking after and racing the Will Clarken trained horses Parsifal and He's a Balter, as was one of the best things she's ever done.
The bonus of winning the International Jockeys Challenge was not only a lucrative career highlight, but earnt her an automatic invite for next year and put Jones' name in lights around the world.
"Receiving that invite over there to go to Saudi Arabia for their International Jockeys Challenge - it was never part of the plan it just happened while I was over there and I came out with an unbelievable result.
"I really indulged in the moment of it all while I was over there but I was in and out of Saudi and then back to the horses in Dubai so it was live in the moment and move on.
"Andrew Balding (top British trainer) actually reached out to me from England. I went to him 11 years ago and rode some track work there in England, and he reached out to me after Saudi and asked me if I'd be interested in going to ride in England.
"Maybe that's a possibility over our winter, I'll just see where things take us and I'll certainly be having a discussion with him," Jones said.
"I was also lucky enough to ride out for Ado McGuinness (top Irish trainer) a couple of times over there.
"He had a Group 1 horse come over who actually ended up winning the Al Quoz Sprint on World Cup night so that was brilliant to see and I made great friends with the lad that was there with the horses.
"So it was nice to make those connections and if I ever headed back to Ireland I know I'd have an opportunity there," she said.
Incredibly the Saudi trip was the first time that Jones had actually raced on a dirt track – the only previous experience was during track work in the build-up at Meydan.
The 31-year-old hopes to return to defend her title next year and would be more than happy to once again travel with Clarken's horses.
"There were a lot of highlights - the whole experience was just amazing. Learning about Will Clarken and his training aspects behind the scenes and being more and hands on with the horses was something really eye opening for me.
"I really appreciate that he gave me that opportunity to learn more of his own technique and the thought process behind training these horses. You can't fault either horse - Parsifal and He's a Balter. They never missed prized money in all the starts they had."
For now Jones is focused on building up her fitness for the Adelaide Racing Carnival.
"I was blessed to ride with some pretty prestigious riders (in Dubai and Saudi Arabia) and I was thrilled to be in amongst that. So I hope I bring more confidence to the table than anything.
"I feel really good within myself. I'm not trying to do things too quickly. I'm not trying to ride too light too quickly. I'm just going to take it in.
"I only having a couple of rides over the weekend and that's OK. I'm sure we'll build over the coming weeks and obviously it's a good time coming into carnival time here in Adelaide," she said.
