Some trainers celebrate the big wins with lavish dinners at high-end restaurants. Others pop the cork of an expensive bottle of champagne and paint the city red.
Matt Jenkins hits the town, but not as you might expect.
A fortnight ago, only hours after Prestige Ka Ying gave him his first win as a solo trainer when saluting at Morphettville, Jenkins grabbed his skateboard and joined a group of mates in the city.
Skating is hardly a traditional pastime for a horse trainer but Jenkins is hardly the typical horse trainer.
He knows it.
He also knows how important it is to have an outlet to, even just for brief moments, escape the all-consuming industry.
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“When I got back from Adelaide, I met half a dozen of my friends in the city and we skated around and went to a couple of bars,” Jenkins said.
“Whether I go to the skate park or go skate in the city, that’s where I switch off completely because I’m surrounded by people that don’t care if I had a winner or Flemington or ran last in a picnic race at Yea.
“It’s only for a short time but it’s something that I find a good escape.
“It’s who I am and it’s what I love – it doesn’t affect my ability to be at work early every day, train horses, ride trackwork and be able to get winners.
“I’m not playing golf or something that is a bit more normalised and I’ve definitely had a few conversations with people about whether I should step away from it if it’s costing me owners or losing people’s respect.
“It’s definitely something that some people look down on but I get a lot out of it so it doesn’t worry me what people think.”
One person that doesn’t look down on Jenkins is Eric Yeung.
The Hong Kong-based owner forged a relationship with the young trainer when he worked in partnership with G1 winner David Brideoake.
Together, Jenkins and Brideoake trained 56 winners from their Mornington base in two and a half years, including Stakes winner Prestige Forever, which is owned by Yeung.
When Brideoake announced his retirement in 2025, Jenkins was at a crossroads with his career and he genuinely considered a move out of racing.
But Yeung offered to back him with a stable of well-bred horses, giving the young trainer the means and the motivation to commit to stables on course at Cranbourne.
“I was probably 50-50 on staying in racing and if I did stay in racing I was most likely going to go to another stable as an assistant trainer,” he said.
“If I got out of racing, I was looking at joining the police force.
“They were my two most probable choices after David told me he was retiring.
“It wasn’t until Eric Yueng, who owns the horse that won on the weekend, approached me and wanted to have a conversation about training for him, that it all became possible.
“I have 15 for him and five others on the books at the moment.
“He told me that all young people deserve a chance and if I wanted to have a go at training solo, he would give me that chance.
“He put his neck on the line a little bit by taking horses out of other stables and gave the to me to fill my barn so hopefully the win was somewhat satisfying for him.
“Obviously I have no family background in horse racing whatsoever so once David retired I really had nowhere to go as far as anyone to lean on for support.”
Prestige Ka Ying’s win has inspired a confidence in Jenkins and his staff and bolstered a hunger to chase success on the track with their stable of young horses.
He hopes growth can be organic and he’s wary of biting off more than he can chew in a solo training career that is only 12 runners old.
“I’ve struggled with the passion for racing the entire time I’ve been involved and it’s fluctuated a lot,” he said.
“But certainly in the last three months since getting this opportunity and then even more so with the win on the weekend, it’s really amped up my drive and passion for the industry.
“And I know that this is a massive opportunity and if I don’t give it 110%, it will slip away pretty quickly.
“It’s grueling and there is a lot more pressure involved doing it solo than it was in a partnership.
“Things are going well, the weekend was awesome and it’s definitely restored my confidence and enthusiasm.”
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