Like any proud father, Alice Springs Turf Club (ASTC) chairman Andrew Maloney was chuffed when his son Lek, an apprentice jockey, landed his first winner at Pioneer Park last Saturday.
The 19-year-old guided the Russell Bell-trained Arrogant Miss to a three-length win over 1400m (0-64) to kickstart what will hopefully be a long and successful career in the saddle.
It was Lek's sixth-ever ride at his third-ever race meeting, after making his Red Centre debut on October 8 where his first ride just happened to be Arrogant Miss.
The daughter of Puissance De Lune finished a narrow second that day behind Intercontinental – who is trained by Lek's master, Greg Connor – and in his only other ride the teenager finished fifth on the Connor-trained Morphling.
Appearing at his next Alice Springs meeting on October 16, Maloney partnered Manhattan Man for Connor and they finished third – which means in just half a dozen rides he has already achieved a first, second and third.
In his two other rides last weekend, Maloney came seventh on Tolkien for Connor and eighth on the Lisa Whittle-trained Love To Love.
Maloney, who claims 4kg, has come a long way since expressing an interest in the racing game as a 13-year-old, and according to Connor he has the right attributes to become a competent jockey.
“Lek's been with me for close on 12 months – he's just got something that makes him tick that makes you think this kid will do alright,” Connor said.
According to Lek's dad, it was an exciting moment for the family both at Pioneer Park and overseas when Arrogant Miss won the final race last Saturday.
Maloney junior, who was born in Thailand and raised in Alice Springs when mum Rose married step-father Andrew, has faced various challenges that would have deterred others his age, but to his credit he stuck at it.
He had to complete countless trials in Alice Springs, South Australia and Western Australia, as well as endure relentless trackwork, to acquire the necessary skills and experience, but the feedback from other trainers and fellow riders was always positive.
“There was most certainly a lot of excitement when Lek won the other day – his journey has been six years long,” Andrew said.
“It started in Alice with Lisa Whittle, he then did a little stint with Russell Bell.
“Then he went over to Western Australia and did a stint with Steve Wolfe over there – down in Albany.
“Then he came back working for Greg Connor, and then just had to decide whether he was going to make a career as a jockey or just be a track rider.
“But he got the bug, he's progressed really well.
“Lek was 13 when he started – he did the usual yard work and did that for a couple of years, and then he finally got on to the back of a horse.
“He had a couple of really bad accidents in Albany – he was kicked by a horse.
“That was sort of life-threatening there for a while, so he's had his mountains to climb that's for sure.
“He's a different kid now that he's able to race ride.
“He's annoying the hell out of all the trainers trying to get rides.
“He's got a full book on Saturday, so he's pretty happy about that.”
And naturally, the family reacted accordingly when the Red Centre's newest rider posted his first win.
“Oh yeah, we were pretty noisy,” Maloney senior said.
“Obviously, his mum was there, the family back in Thailand have seen the video now.
“It was a pretty big moment of excitement for the family, that's for sure.
“He'll likely be staying in the Territory.
“It was the Territory that finally gave him his opportunity.
“There's a big opportunity for him here to spend at least the next two or three years minimum or even see out his apprenticeship and then go from there.”
All the jockeys at Pioneer Park were very supportive when Lek punched home his first winner, and he got to celebrate the occasion with an acquaintance from his WA days.
“Kristo Sardelic is from WA and was up last Saturday and he knew Lek from Albany, so they're good mates,” Andrew said.
“Kristo flew in to ride for Garret Lynch and he rode a winner (Archery Butts), so it was a fun lunch on Sunday with the pair of them.
“He's based in Adelaide and he rides mainly for Scott Whittle, the brother of Lisa, but also for Garret.”
Meanwhile, the ASTC recently parted ways with former chief executive officer Tom Slattery after three years.
“We went through a bit of a management restructure – the role that Tom had no longer exists,” the ASTC chairman said.
“We're on the hunt for a General Manager, not a CEO.
“We hope to make an appointment within the next couple of weeks – we'll see how that goes.”
The ASTC will host its Horse of the Year Awards to draw the curtain on the 2021/22 Alice Springs racing season at Pioneer Park on Saturday following the five-event program.
Lisa Whittle (32) will be honoured as the leading trainer, Stan Tsaikos (35) as the leading jockey, and Ianish Luximon (6) as the leading apprentice.
There are four categories in the equine section:
Sprinter of the Year (up to 1200m) — Dakota Lee (Terry Gillett), Kummerlings (Ray Viney), Like A Heartbeat (Lisa Whittle), Miles Prower (Greg Connor), Our Luca (Kerry Petrick), Roppongi (Terry Gillett), Supreme Times (Terry Gillett).
Stayer of the Year (1400m and over) — Bench Press (Terry Gillett), Dataset (Jess Gleeson), That's Justified (Terry Gillett), Zelring (Lisa Whittle).
Three-Year-Old of the Year — Dakota Lee (Terry Gillett), Flying Start (Greg Connor).
Horse of the Year — Dakota Lee (Terry Gillett), Dataset (Jess Gleeson), Flying Start (Greg Connor), Mathematics (Lisa Whittle), Supreme Times (Terry Gillett).