Brandon Lerena eating his way to the top

By Jordan Gerrans

In a bid to get back in the Group 1 club, dedicated jockey Brandon Lerena is leaving no stone unturned in his approach to his craft in the Sunshine State.

The South African has won at the highest level in his homeland as well as riding in feature events in Mauritius and Macau during other overseas stints.

The 37-year-old has gradually built his profile in Queensland over the last year or so since he relocated north from Sydney, which was where he had his initial stint in Australia.

Based at Ormeau in the northern part of the Gold Coast, the ball has started to bounce the right way for Lerena in recent months.

He sits second on the Queensland provincial jockey's premiership and he is firmly entrenched in the top 10 in the overall title.

What jockeys eat, or what they cannot eat, is always an interesting topic as they have to constantly be watching their weight for their upcoming mounts.

The smiling Lerena has spent time in recent years eating a vegan diet in a bid to be fit and healthy on raceday.

But, he has recently switched to eating more whole foods, supplemented by fruit and vegetables he grows in his backyard.

It is all aimed towards fighting his way into the city riding ranks in Brisbane and returning to the highest level of the sport.

“Both my wife and I are very keen on being really healthy. I think it shows a lot in my performance at the races,” the hard-working rider said.

“If you get to the races and you're not taking off a lot of weight, it makes such a big difference.

“You're well hydrated, you can make those split-second decisions.

“As a family, we've tried a lot of different avenues, we were vegan for a couple of years, it was really good. We learnt a lot in that time, but we've tried to evolve as we've gone on.

“Also raising young kids, we want to give them a good balanced diet and likewise with us.

“We've learnt a lot from being vegan and now we're more whole food based and less is more, but quality is very important.”

The Lerena clan relocated to Australia to give their children a better life as they grow up.

At home away from his riding commitments, the Lerena family enjoy growing their own food.

“I think it's important to know where your food comes from and if it's grown in the backyard, you're not going to get any better than that,” he said.

“It's important to know where your food comes from but also what's in it.

“At the moment we don't have a lot of space so we're growing a lot of our herbs and we've got a few blueberry trees that are hopefully going to give us some fruit next year. 

“A lot of basil and a lot of herbs. 

"We've got a few vines also, grape vines.”

The well-travelled rider has been a star on the provincial scene in the 2025-26 term but his opportunities in town have been few and far between.

The past weekend underscores Lerena’s plight.

He was at Ipswich on Friday, the Gold Coast on Saturday and then up to Caloundra on Sunday.

He is obviously not complaining about picking up top engagements on the provincial circuit, but he has his eyes on the big smoke in the future.

“Coming from South Africa, I was competing in Group 1 races,” he proclaimed.

“Saturdays and metro meetings, as they are called here, in Australia, there are opportunities every week.

“I would like to get back to finding real champions that are going to win real big races.

“That will be one of my real aspirations for the future.”

The multiple Group 1-winner spent five years riding in Sydney before heading north.

He was halted somewhat in his early days riding in New South Wales by visa restrictions.

Those restrictions meant he could only ride for his sponsor Bjorn Baker for the first four years and his opportunities in the city were limited.

After only riding for reigning Stradbroke Handicap-winning conditioner Baker in his early Sydney days, Lerena struck up a close working relationship with the Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou team once his visa restrictions were lifted.

Lerena won a handful of Group 1 races in South Africa - with his first coming when he was still a teenager – as well as riding almost 900 winners in his home country.

He also has won at the elite level in Mauritius.

He is now enjoying a breakout Queensland campaign.

Lerena leads the Gold Coast riding title with a few months in the season to go and is in striking distance of overturning Ben Thompson for the state provincial crown.

“The main goal is just to get that 100 wins on the season,” Lerena said with 59 winners to his name so far this term.

“I think 100 wins in Queensland, obviously I also go across the border to New South Wales, but I'd like to have 100 Queensland winners for the season.

“That's my main goal really and progress from there.

"I think having winners is the key. I was always told by an old trainer that I worked for as an apprentice that you're only as good as your last winner.

“So, you've got to focus on just keep having winners and the winners, they breed the winners.

“At the end of the day, if you're winning, people want to have you on and you've just got to keep winning. That's as simple as it is.”

Lerena heads to Warwick Turf Club on Tuesday with a strong book of engagements before taking one booking for trainer Michael Morrison in town on Wednesday at Doomben.