Taylor Marshall’s first Saturday metropolitan winner was cause for celebration. His second, third and fourth have stamped him as a future star.
The 21-year-old apprentice son of retired top jockey John Marshall, came to Rosehill on Saturday hoping for the best and left with a memorable quartet including the Listed Lord Mayor’s Cup on Zephyron.
John Marshall was a multiple Group One winner and had a long association with Bart Cummings, culminating in the 1999 Melbourne Cup with Rogan Josh.
His son has a long way to go but is heading in the right direction, drawing high praise from co-trainer Michael Hawkes for his wins on Brisbane Cup-bound Zephyron and Forster.
“Before the Lord Mayor’s Cup I told him to go out there and have fun,” Hawkes said.
“He has ridden a couple of winners for us recently so with a lot of the senior jockeys away in Brisbane we thought we would give him a chance.
“He is dedicated, he listens and does everything by the book.
“He has some good teachers in his father and his master Ron Quinton and he is going places.”
Marshall admitted he had a few nerves coming to the meeting, especially with the responsibility of steering Zephyron in a non-claiming race.
“Mr Hawkes just told me to have fun and put the horse where he was comfortable and ride for luck if I had to,” he said.
Zephyron ($16) was three wide for most of the race but had too much in the tank for favourite I’m Imposing ($2.60) with the margin a half neck at the end of the Lord Mayor’s Cup (2000m).
Marshall’s father was trackside to watch his son and said he could not believe what he was seeing.
“I’m flabbergasted,” he said.
“I don’t think I rode one winner on my first Saturday in town.
“He never sat on a horse until he was 18-years-old.
“This was his choice. He has always had a lovely seat on a horse but you have to have the desire and he was late deciding it was what he wanted to do.”
“We talked about the day on the way here and thought Forster was the best of his rides.”
Forster’s win in the 1200m benchmark 85 brought up a double for the Hawkes training partnership with the $3 favourite beating Oakfield Commands ($26) by a neck.
Marshall’s first two winners came aboard Queensland Derby prospect Pinstripe Lane, a decisive winner of the Rexel Handicap (1900m) and Oxford Poet in the Ken Callander Fellowship (1200m).
He will not be back at the races until Tuesday but there will be little rest.
“He has to work at the stables tomorrow,” his father said.
“And we will go over his rides and analyse them.”
– AAP