Houston hungry for Queensland winners

By Jordan Gerrans

After getting his first riding experience under his belt on Saturday, apprentice Ryan Houston is ready to ‘bang in some winners’ following his northern shift.

The Victorian apprentice is set to complete a three-month loan stint in the Sunshine State for the training team of Annabel and Rob Archibald, who operate a satellite stable at Eagle Farm.

The young hoop developed a close association with the camp when they also operated a Victorian satellite team in recent years.

The 23-year-old took six rides at Eagle Farm on Saturday, with four of them for his masters.

He went close to nabbing a breakthrough Queensland winner, finishing in the placings in two races.

Houston will be shooting to grab his maiden victory in his new jurisdiction when he heads to Ipswich on Wednesday to ride Kowloon Magnate for the Archibald barn.

“They had about 20 horses and upwards for a fair few years in Melbourne and I’d go down to do a bit of trackwork when they were in Victoria,” he recalls of his early dealings with the stable.

“It worked out really well because they ended up moving to Flemington, so I was out riding a bit for them and rode a lot of winners for them, so it was good.

“It was a pretty good operation.

“I reckon I rode most of their winners for the year. We’re actually pretty consistent, so she’d always send a good chance for me in town on a Saturday and Wednesday.

“It worked out really well.”

Houston has 149 winners on his resume, with 12 of those coming from the Archibald camp.

The lightweight youngster enjoyed his first experience in Brisbane on Saturday.

“I noticed they roll along a bit quicker up here,” he said.

“So, that’s going to take a bit of a learning curve just to work out what the riders’ habits are and figure it all out.

“But, that’ll come quite quickly and I’ll just do my best to get all the opportunities I can and try and bang in some winners. I thought it was pretty good, actually. The jockeys were welcoming on Saturday.

“They were pretty good to look after me and in the races that I had rides in, I thought I got a chance.”

Houston is indentured to Simon Zahra and was keen to look north during the busy spring carnival in Melbourne, where opportunities regularly dry up for apprentices.

A significant advantage Houston has is that he can ride light, with his listed weight at 51kg.

“I think while the spring carnival is on, it is quite hard there,” he said.

“So, I thought the option to come and ride in Queensland for a few months, with my two-kilogram claim, get plenty of opportunities and learn how to go the other way, would be a good idea.

“I haven’t really had much experience doing that, so I’m just trying to solidify my confidence a bit more.

“I don’t really have to waste too much. I had the ride at 51kg on the weekend and I didn’t have to sweat for that. I don’t really struggle with that kind of stuff.”

Houston will consider remaining in the Sunshine State after his loan stint if all goes well in the coming months.

Kowloon Magnate has drawn wide in the opening race at Ipswich on Wednesday.

The gelding has placed in all four of his recent starts and should appreciate stepping up in distance to 1710 metres.