Rodd Caps Off Perfect Weekend With Scobie Breasley Medal Win

Michael Rodd capped off what had already been a memorable weekend by winning his first Scobie Breasley Medal for the most outstanding Victorian Metropolitan rider of the season overnight.

Michael Rodd

Michael Rodd became just the tenth jockey to win the Scobie Breasley Medal after recording consistent performances during the 2012/2013 racing season. Photo by: Race Horse Photos Australia

With forty-two votes, Rodd scored the prestigious award by only two votes from Dwayne Dunn (forty votes) while leading provincial jockey Brad Rawiller (39) was only three votes back.

Glen Boss was the favourite to win the award but finished equal fourth with champion apprentice Chad Schofield while Luke Nolen finished well short of winning the award for the third straight time.

Rodd became just the tenth jockey to win the Scobie Breasley medal since it was introduced in 1996 and told Racing Ahead this morning that his head was buzzing after a stellar weekend that included his dominant victory on glamour mare Atlantic Jewel in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday.

“It has been a massive weekend,” Rodd said on RSN.

“I can’t really put it all together at the moment, everything is running wild in my head.

“To win the Scobie last night with a lot of the previous winners there was very, very special.”

Rodd is noted for being a big race specialist, taking part in Group 1 races all over the country, and admitted that he was surprised to win the award that rewards consistency in Victoria throughout the season.

“I’ve never thought of myself as winning an award like that because I don’t spend a lot of time in Victoria riding, in terms of midweeks and during Carnival time when Brisbane and Sydney is on,” Rodd said.

“I thought that I might score all right but just not have enough points.

“It was a massive surprise and I am still trying to get my head around it.

“It is such a big award here in Victoria; people say it is like winning a Brownlow.”

Rodd finished the 2012/2013 racing season with only two Group 1 victories, winning the Myer Classic (1600m) with Appearance and the Australian Cup (2000m) with Super Cool, but with a fit and firing Atlantic Jewel returning to the races he has an excellent opportunity to improve on that number this season.

Previous winners of the Scobie Breasley Medal include Damien Oliver, Steven King, Greg Childs, Brett Prebble, Kerrin McEvoy, Blake Shinn, Craig Williams, Glen Boss and Luke Nolen.

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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.