Jockey Mel Julius continued a family legacy – and added to a quirky apprentice school statistic – when she trained her first winner at Kyneton on Saturday.
Julius rode her own horse One More Star to win the fillies and mares Maiden, a victory that secured a breakthrough win for both the horse and her trainer, who was granted a dual-license to train in late-2015, having initially been denied a trainer’s license by Racing Victoria.
A successful jockey with more than 200 winners to her name, Julius hails from a family steeped in racing tradition – her brother Josh trained Just Folk to several Stakes wins, while her parents and grandparents have been heavily involved in thoroughbred racing.
She said it was a thrill to win with the cantankerous mare that was bought by her brother for $5000 via Inglis Digital.
“It was my fourth runner – it was nice to do it (win) pretty early,” Julius said.
“Ben (brother) found her online, she was with Will Clarken and Niki O’Shea in South Australia.”
“I was really taken by her first start over there (SA), knowing that she was bred to get over 1400m and a mile.”
“You’ve got to take a risk with those cheap online buys and we did that, thinking that she’s a woman and maybe being trained out of a paddock at the farm, going to the beach and slowing down might work for a horse like her.”
“She’s been a bit of work but it’s been so nice seeing her personality grow.”
“She’s a happy horse and she’s quite a sweetheart.”
“During my career with the different stables I’ve worked with, I’ve loved working with those difficult fillies by keeping them happy and helping to grow their career that way.”
Incredibly, the win saw Julius become the fourth member of Racing Victoria’s 2014 apprentice jockey intake to train a winner as a dual-license holder, following Lucinda Boyd, Sophie Logan and Jess Tzaferis.
The 34-year-old said it had never been the plan to train, although it became more tempting in recent seasons as she learned to manage her riding weight more comfortably.
She was also motivated to get her license while working alongside her grandfather Leo Dwyer, the longtime clerk of the course in Victoria’s western districts, who continues to breed and work with young stock on his farm, 15 minutes outside of Warrnambool.
As well as One More Star and 14-start maiden Yankee Street Rain, Julius has an unraced half-relation to the family’s homebred pin-up horse Just Folk in work at her Warrnambool base.
“In all honesty, I thought it (training) would be a bit much for me,” she said.
“With how busy you can get with riding and in Victoria it can be a bit hit and miss, you can be everywhere one week and have no rides the next.”
“But after my Nanna got sick, I found myself out at Pa’s farm helping out and it grew from there.”
“I loved it, it was so good for me to be out at the farm and not always thinking about riding.”
“I’ve always had to do so much with maintaining my weight but over the last couple of years my weight is unreal and being out at the farm and working with a few horses has probably helped that.”
“So with that, it’s the busiest and the most that I’ve ever ridden which has been crazy.”
“So I’ve worked out that three (horses in training) is the perfect number at the moment.”
“Enjoying it is the biggest things and with three in work I can be in control and still enjoy it.”
“I never want one or the other to suffer.”
