Browne Looks To Make Up For Lost Time At Eagle Farm

Jockey Damian Browne will attempt to get back the momentum he lost during his recent three-week suspension when he continues his comeback to the saddle at Eagle Farm this Saturday.

Browne has already enjoyed success at Ipswich, riding both Internal Revenue and Adnocon home to win last Saturday.

The jockey then continued on to ride Tail And All to victory at Doomben Racecourse on Wednesday.

Browne is hopeful that the dual suspensions that decimated his winter carnival will be a thing of the past.

“It’s not something I normally have a problem with,” he said.

“Obviously it’s something I have to try and iron out of my riding.”

Browne often finds himself in trouble at the corners, a problem he only faces on the right-handed tracks of Sydney and Brisbane.

“A lot of the trouble I get is going into the first corner, which is a problem I never had riding in the opposite direction,” Browne said.

“I have a bad habit of just shaving them when I come across, trying to be easy on my horse and not go too hard.”

The jockey said he has no harsh feeling towards the stewards that suspended him for three of the most coveted rides of the season.

“I’m not blaming the stewards, if you do the crime you do the time,” Browne said.

“I think I’ve been in a couple of 50-50 calls that have gone against me, but in the past I’ve had a few of those go my way too, so you can’t whinge when you cop a couple.”

Browne was lucky not to have missed any Group wins because of his suspension.

“I won two or three Group races leading up and looked to have genuine chances in most of the Group 1 races,” he said.

“Missing three of the main days I lost my chance at those.

“As it turns out in the results I fortunately didn’t miss any.”

Browne is officially Australia’s current top strike-rate jockey, with the statistics putting him ahead of top jockey Nash Rawiller.

Despite the impressive title, Browne would give it up in return for a Group 1 win this season.

“I am happy with the way things are progressing but it can always be better,” he said.

“Obviously not riding a Group 1 winner this season is disappointing because you want to be in the firing line in those races as much as you can.

“It was also disappointing to spend so much time on the sideline.”

Browne is no stranger to spending time on the sidelines, with the jockey forced out of racing for almost three years after he broke his leg twice early on in his Australian jockey career.

“I was back one week and a horse went through the outside fence and I broke it again,” he said.

“It was something like 20 months and then another 12 to 14 months.”

Brown is hoping to make the most of this weekend’s meet at Eagle Farm, where he will partner five horses, including Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara hopeful She Rules.

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