Apel and her favourite mare have a tale to tell

By Jordan Gerrans

From riding Track Tale in her first day at the stables to winning a $100,000 race on the mare, the sprinter holds a special place in Central Queensland apprentice McKenzie Apel’s heart.

The 23-year-old has been along for the journey with the four-year-old from the start and has won five races on the daughter of Whittington. 

At Track Tale’s last start, the mare delivered Apel with the greatest prizemoney victory of her young career when they combined to land the feature Capricornia Yearling Sale Classic for the three and four-year-olds. 

The team have another feature event on their agenda this week when they head towards Sunday’s The Fitzroy, which is the $75,000 support race to the $1 million The Archer at Rockhampton’s Callaghan Park.

While Track Tale will not be starting in the showpiece slot race on the program, The Fitzroy still boasts sizeable prizemoney and is run on one of CQ’s biggest race days of the year. 

The up-and-coming hoop has won five races on the mare from just six race day opportunities. 

“I have ridden her pretty much every day since we first got her as a baby in her first prep, so I have got a fairly good connection going with her now,” the apprentice said.

“She loves to gallop and loves to win; her heart just wants to gallop. She is very tough.

“It is something special to me to be able to win as many times as I have on her, including the Cap Sales race recently.

“It was so nice to win that race on her.”

For Track Tale to claim the Capricornia Yearling Sale Classic for the three and four-year-olds last month, it has been three years in the making for the Rockhampton-prepared galloper. 

She ran second in the two-year-old edition of the event back in 2023 and finished in the same position last year in her first crack at the race for the older division. 

In the first two attempts at the prominent local sales event, Track Tale was ridden by senior hoops who travelled to Rockhampton for the meeting. 

In 2025, trainer Ricky Vale and owner Liam Goody backed the hoop who has been there from day one with the progressive galloper. 

“It was really special to win that race seeing as she has had three cracks at it now,” the young hoop said.

“To finally get the win, it was very special.

“Ricky has been so supportive to my career and has shown so much loyalty to me with his horses.

“A lot of trainers would have put a senior rider on in big races like these but for Ricky and the owner Liam to stay loyal to me, it is really special and I really appreciate that.”

The team of Vale and Goody have stuck with their young gun hoop again on Sunday, resisting the potential of booking one of the elite-level interstate jockeys who are jetting to CQ for Sunday’s rich program. 

“McKenzie puts in the work behind the scenes at trackwork,” Goody said on social media after the mare’s recent win.

“She knows the horse and gets the best out of her every time she rides her in her races and she deserved this opportunity, riding her perfectly and coming through with the win.”

For the first time in Apel’s career, she will lower her riding weight to 53kg for Sunday’s event. 

The mare carried 62.5kg at her last start at Rockhampton. 

For a hoop to get down to 53kg, it can be a serious challenge at the best of times. 

But, Apel says she has got her weight down gradually and is feeling stable ahead of The Fitzroy, while also having an eye to the upcoming Northern Queensland Winter Racing Carnival where Track Tale is likely to head towards the Rockhampton Newmarket.

“We have not drawn an ideal gate of 10 on Sunday but with it being 1300 metres, I have enough time to get across,” Apel said.

“She likes to sit up on pace, without doing too much to get there.

“I think we may have to do a bit of work to get into a position on Sunday but when you ask her to, she really digs deep for you.

“With true weight, carrying 53kg, which is a 9.5kg drop from her last win, I think she will be very hard to beat with that on her back.

“She will appreciate the weight drop and my weight has been good so I am feeling fit.”

Apel is on track to have her most prolific season in the saddle when 2024-25 comes to a close. 

She has 30 victories to her name so far and should comfortably surpass her 35 wins last term if she continues her current strike-rate. 

Apel – who hails from Gin Gin just outside of Bundaberg –  rode eight winners in April.

“I feel like I have been on a bit of a roll lately as all our horses are in full racing fitness now after coming back from their summer spells,” she said.

“That has really helped for kicking things off for me.

“My three-kilogram claim in Rocky, you get a bit of luck with that. Hopefully I can keep the ball rolling in that aspect.”