If you’ve ever seen Braith Nock on the back of a horse, or a bull for that matter, you’ll know he lacks nothing in the courage or confidence department.
It’s a different story when you put a camera or voice recorder in front of him.
Braith Nock’s next step is to focus on losing his provincial claim. (Pic: Bradley Photos).
The 22-year-old apprentice has carried some weight of expectation on his shoulders since he started his riding career, with a winner, on January 1 in 2023 and he says for a while it played on his mind.
“I’ve always been a shy kind of person,’’ Nock said.
“Not towards the things that I’m doing, I’m not shy when I get on a horse, but toward talking to people.
“I’m definitely getting better at talking on camera.
“At the start what held me up being a jockey was being frightened of not succeeding.
“With everyone having that expectation, that I would succeed, I had a bit of a fear of that.
“I’ve been a bit successful in rodeo and pretty much anything sports really but I’ve had really good support and have got good mentors.”
One such mentor is his master Brett Cavanough.
And you can see in the post-race interview following Nock’s debut ride on Just Strolling at Inverell just how much it meant to both jockey and trainer.
After just a few words from Nock he was waved away by Cavanough, who noticed his apprentice’s discomfort with being thrust into the limelight, saying “away you go bud, you don’t need any more pressure”.
Fast forward some 18 months and there’s no claim against Nock’s name in the country, that’s been gone for some time now, and while he’s in no rush to join the Sydney ranks just yet his focus on making the transition to provincial level.
Under Cavanough’s watchful eye, Nock has gone about his business collecting winners – notching a half century in his first calendar year and his 100th career win at Gunnedah on May 6.
He’s on track to give 100 winners for the 2023/24 season a nudge.
“He’s got a lot of horses and he’s a good boss,’’ Nock said.
“He’s had a lot of successful apprentices and I thought he was a good trainer to go to.
“I’ve had a few rides in town but we’re going to focus on the provincials and try to ride the claim out in the next 12 months and then progress to metropolitan.
“That’s a long way in the future so we’ll have to wait.”
Well before he rode Just Strolling to victory in his first race ride, Braith Nock’s name was mentioned by then jockey mentor Corey Brown as a rider to watch out for. A talent that as far as poise on the back of a horse was concerned he couldn’t teach a lot to.
That’s probably come from Nock’s well publicised youth as a bull rider. And that he has racing in his blood with his mother, Jane Clement, a trainer and his father, Greg Nock, a well known former jockey in the state’s north west.
Nock started riding in rodeos around the age of six and made his first junior final as a seven-year-old.
Bull riding took him to Canada where he rode in the Canadian PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Finals, just a couple of months before his first race ride, and he’s also competed in the Australian PBR Finals.
He says it was something he needed to get out of his system before turning his attention to racing.
“I’ve always been natural riding a horse, I wouldn’t say at race riding from the start, but I’ve had the rhythm to go with a horse,’’ he said.
“Once you get the gist of racing it’s quite easy, you jump out and get your horse into a rhythm and if they’re good enough they win.
Braith Nock leads in another winner as he closes on 100 wins for the season. (Pic: Bradley Photos).
“I wanted to be a jockey eventually, it was a matter of when.
“There were a few things I wanted to do before I dedicated my life to something.
“I didn’t go for long in the (bull riding) opens, I went up north mustering at a station for a season then came back and started riding work and went to Brett’s and progressed from there.
“The thrill of winning is probably the main thing. You get paid good money to ride horses.
“It was probably always going to happen no matter what.”
The step up to now riding at provincial level regularly is a calculated one.
It’s not unlike how Mark Newnham grounded his string of champion apprentices Robbie Dolan, Tom Sherry and Tyler Schiller by holding them back until they had the experience to cope with the intensity of Sydney racing.
Not to mention the strength of the jockey room. Bring up the name James McDonald and you can see his benchmark is one that all young riders aspire to one day.
Nock is a fan, of course. But like anyone who wants to be a high achiever he knows knowledge comes from more than one source.
“I rode in a race at Hawkesbury (on Cup Day) and got onto James’ back and followed him the whole way, it was pretty cool to watch what he did right in front of me in the race,’’ he said.
“It’s more competitive in town, the races are run a little bit different but it’s not a whole lot different if your horse is going good enough.
“There is a heap of good jockeys around, if you take a little bit from every top jockey it can take you to the next level.”
– *This article originally appeared in the July 2024 edition of the Racing NSW magazine
