Scotty Macnab looks forward to competing in The New Zealand Hunts’ Association Duke Of Gloucester Cup (2100m) every season, and he will be aiming for a third crown in the iconic amateurs event on Saturday at Hastings.
Macnab has been New Zealand’s most successful amateur rider for the better part of a decade, winning the Flair Amateur Rider Series five times, including last year’s edition staged through the winter and early spring.
A farmer from Wanganui, Macnab followed in the footsteps of his father Dave in competing in the series, while his niece Sarah (O’Malley) also won the title in 2016 before commencing her apprenticeship.
“I fell into doing these races really, I wanted to look at how Kevin Myers did his horses in the mornings and went there one day with Jo Rathbone,” Macnab said.
“As soon as I got there, Kevin went into the tack room, came out with a pair of boots and told me to get on a horse. I had no intention of riding when I was going there whatsoever.”
Myers and Macnab have been an unstoppable force in the amateur races since he commenced race riding, with their multitude of wins as a combination including Macnab’s first and long-awaited success in the Duke of Gloucester Cup of 2017, which he swiftly followed up with another in 2018.
The race is contested every year at a different venue, dating back to 1935 when Prince Henry attended the Marton Jockey Club meeting and rode in the amateur race before donating the trophy.
“My father won four of them, and that was my goal right from the start to win one. It took me so long to get that first one, it’s not easy and it’s the biggest race for us for the year,” Macnab said.
“It’s a big highlight, especially for those of us that have ridden in the races for a little while, it becomes more and more of a prestige. Some of the kids in their first or second year don’t realise that it is the be all and end all of amateur riding, so if you’ve won a Duke of Gloucester you’ve done pretty well.”
Macnab picked up where he left off last season in the first amateur race of the year at Hawera when winning aboard Myers’ five-year-old Rakanui, and he will partner last-start hurdle winner Run Jakko Run in the Epic Journey’s USA / Canada 2025 on Thursday at Te Aroha.
“This year I haven’t been riding very much at Kevin’s, just once or twice a week, but I won on Rakanui at the Castlepoint Beach Races and liked him,” Macnab said.
“My manager Jason (Myers), as he likes to think, rang me up and said he thought this horse would go alright, and he was right which was good.
“I’ve got a seven-hour drive up now to Te Aroha with Kevin’s horses, and apparently if we get a winner we can put a lolly on our ice-cream on the way home.
“Jakko is a bit of character, I’m not quite as confident for tomorrow as I was riding Rakanui.”
Myers has five runners accepted into Saturday’s Duke of Gloucester Cup and each in good form, but which Macnab will partner remains to be seen.
“I’ll be riding one of Kevin’s on Saturday, I’m not sure which one yet though so I just look at the website when it comes out,” he said.
“I just usually ride the horses that Kevin needs me to ride, I won’t really ride for anyone else because if they have a kid that wants to have a go in the amateurs, I’d rather see them have a turn and keep it going.”
More recent rule changes including no whip-use behind the saddle have changed the landscape of the amateur races in Macnab’s perspective, and how they prepare the budding apprentices for professional riding.
“The amateur races nowadays are so much more professional, you don’t get silly stuff happening. But I do worry that the kids that are riding these days aren’t readying themselves enough for being an apprentice,” he said.
“We aren’t allowed to whip the horses, and as soon as they become apprentices, they’re expected to go out there and not only whip the horse, but also count how many whips they are doing so they don’t get fined, which is happening every week.
“I think they took it out to make the amateurs look better because we do all have our own styles, and it does help, but possibly even just allowing us to hit them twice or three times, just so the kids start learning to count.
“A big part of it as well is getting them into the race day scene with being on TV and all the dramas that come with that. If they can get somewhat used to that before going into the professional ranks, it has got to be better for them.
“I would love to see a riding mentor bring all of the riders in to watch the replay, and tell us what happened in the race and why.
“It wouldn’t be picking holes in anyone at all, more just to explain so the riders can understand and know for next time. We only race once every three or four weeks usually, so you get so nervous and built up for the one race. You can’t turn around two races later on the day and change something, it’s really a one-off.
“I would find that very beneficial personally, even just having someone to help us walk the track before the race to show where it’s heavy or chopped up.”
Macnab has seen plenty of high-profile racing figures use the amateur series to get their start, something he would like to see continue into future years.
“There are lots of kids that have gone on to do really well, when I first started Rosie Myers (Fell) was in the amateurs and we all know what she went on and did as a jockey,” he said.
“Aaron Kuru is a good mate of mine and I used to ride with him, he was a very good rider then and you could see he was always going to do well, same with Shaun Fannin. A lot have had a go at it and moved on, which is what it’s all about.
“I’ve been retiring for a long time, pretty much every year, but Kevin keeps putting my name down in the book, so I keep turning up. But I do love it, and the moment I don’t, I’ll give it up.”
Photo: Race Images