Clipperton Outrides Claim Before End Of Apprenticeship

Rising Sydney jockey Sam Clipperton scored the 80th metropolitan win of his career and outrode his claim with an impressive victory on All Salsaat Canterbury yesterday.

Sam Clipperton is set to win the Sydney Apprentice Premiership for the second year in a row.

Sam Clipperton is set to win the Sydney Apprentice Premiership for the second year in a row. Photo by: Daniel Costello

Clipperton will claim the Apprentice Premiership for the second year in a row at the end of the racing season and was clearly delighted to complete his goal of outriding his claim less than two weeks before the end of his apprenticeship.

“It has always been a goal of mine to try and outride my claim,” Clipperton told TVN.

“It was always going to be a difficult task especially riding in Sydney and it was great to ride of that claim yesterday and even more of a thrill to be able to do it on one of Ron’s horses.”

Clipperton has served as an apprentice for veteran trainer and former jockey Ron Quinton and he was thrilled to be able to bring up a milestone victory onboard one of his masters horses.

The young hoop revealed that Quinton had been like a father figure to him throughout his riding career to date and said that he could not have asked for a better trainer in which to serve his apprenticeship under.

“He has been such a major influence on my career and life for that matter,” Clipperton said.

“He is not only a boss, he is more of a fatherly figure to me.

“I lived with him and his wife Margaret for three and a half years, they took me in as their own and that is very important because I got such great grounding early on.

“I wasn’t just an apprentice to them, I was basically like their son and I am very grateful for everything they have done for me.

“It is such a privilege to have had such a great apprenticeship for one of the best in the business.”

Clipperton has also developed a strong bond with fellow jockeys Blake Shinn and Peter Robl, who retired last week and credited a great deal of his recent improvement to the work he had been doing with Shinn.

“Blake has been helping me for a couple of years now and something I have been working very hard on is getting my style right and just trying to polish up and start riding like a jockey and not an apprentice,” Clipperton said.

“Blake has been a huge help for me in doing that and we work really hard on our fitness.

“I feel that last year and a half that I have really improved off his help.”

Clipperton scored his maiden win at Group level on Intimate Moment in the Percy Sykes Tribute Stakes (1900m) during the 2014 Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival and has developed a working relationship with the Darley operation; winning the Listed Scone Cup on Cameo and the Listed Civic Stakes on Generalife.

About The Author

Thomas Hackett

Thomas is a passionate and opinionated racing journalist and punter who has been obsessed with horse racing since he backed Saintly to win the 1996 Melbourne Cup. An international racing enthusiast, he has his finger on the pulse of racing news not just from Australia but all around the world.