Kiwi jockey turns over new page in Queensland

By Jordan Gerrans

Kiwi hoop Dylan Turner has relocated to the Sunshine State with lofty ambitions and he is already making inroads in those goals.

The 30-year-old has recently landed in Queensland – via Melbourne – from New Zealand and struck his first blow at Warwick on Sunday when he landed a victory aboard Mission To Win.

Turner previously called Palmerston North home across the ditch and will reside on the Gold Coast in his new venture.

The well-travelled jockey has vast experience against the best of the best back in his homeland, winning multiple black-type races as well as being placed at Group 1 level.

With those achievements already on his riding resume, he has turned his attention to lifting his career winners tally to 500.

Turner departed NZ with exactly 200 victories to his name and added almost 30 more in his 15 months in Victoria.

“I have won six black-type races and been placed in Group 1s on three occasions,” the Kiwi hoop said.

“There is always that urge in the back of your head that you want to win a Group 1 winner.

“I think my biggest goal at the moment is to try and get to 500 winners, I am about halfway there right now.

“Hopefully in the next five or so years I can ride 50 or 60 winners a season from here and get there.”

Turner has linked up with the newly created partnership of Toby Edmonds and Stephen McLean at Aquis Park.

In just his second race ride since moving north, the jockey scored with Mission To Win in a Class 1 Plate over 1500 metres at Warwick’s Allman Park on Sunday afternoon.

The five-year-old gelding came from back in the field in a performance Turner described as ‘explosive’ and he noted that he felt the galloper ‘really wanted to win’.

As well as picking up the race day engagement for the barn, Turner has been riding plenty of work for ‘Team Edmonds and McLean’ as well.

“It is a more suited environment for me and a great team,” he said.

“They work like a family at the Edmonds team.

“I was lucky they threw me a bone with a race ride so early on. Stephen is a great person and a real asset to their team, as well.”

In his time in Victoria, Turner found success on the country and provincial level across the state as well as riding work at Cranbourne.

He stepped away from race riding for a period of time earlier this year when his weight got out of hand and he needed to get it back under control.

Turner believes the warmer climates of the Gold Coast have significantly helped him get his weight down to around 57.5 kgs, which he branded the best his weight has been in around six years.

“I took a step back from race riding in February of this year,” he said.

“Now that I have moved to the Gold Coast, I have dropped four kilograms just naturally and being here, my weight will be a lot more maintainable.

“Being here will prolong my riding career, I think.

“I can ride 55.5 kilograms week in, week out and can get lower if I had a decent horse going somewhere.”

With the Edmonds and McLean barn nominating a handful of runners at Lismore on Friday, Turner plans to head south of the border.

“I have got a few mates up here on the Gold Coast that I rode with in New Zealand and they have always sort of pushed or asked the question about me coming up,” Turner said.

“They told me it was good racing and a great lifestyle.

“I was in between track work and what not at Cranbourne so I thought why not give it a crack and try and ride race day up here. I was just lucky that I rode a winner so quickly.”