Rising NSW apprentice Chelsea Hillier bagged her first career treble in front of a home crowd in Deepwater and it will definitely be a highlight she'll remember for life.
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A Glen Innes native, Hillier began her racing career riding trackwork for Paddy Cunningham before she started riding as amateur jockey in picnic meets across the state, where the jockeys ride at a heavier weight.
The coronavirus pandemic halted that but it proved a blessing in disguise for Hillier and she began her apprenticeship for her professional jockey licence.
"Then I ended up at Mark Newnham's in Sydney and I lost a heap of weight during Covid," Hillier said.
"He said if I wanted to give it a go, he would take me on. So I did."
And she hasn't looked back.
Hillier completed the required 20 trials in Sydney before moving to Rod Northam's Scone-based stable to gain experience.
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"Basically you have got to start in the country, you can't really start in the city," she said.
"I did all my trials with Mark, you have got to do at least 20 trials then came to Rod's on a three month loan and ended up staying."
At 27-years-old, Hillier is older than most apprentices starting out but believes it's a benefit for her.
"I am a bit older to start my apprenticeship, usually you start young, I have gone the long way but we are here," she said.
"It is a blessing in disguise, I could never been an apprentice when I was 18. It would have been too much [mentally].
"Everything works out for a reason."
The Scone lifestyle suits the Glen Innes native and her career has blossomed.
It was "a pretty cool" moment when Hillier rode her first winner, Gold Lunar, in Tamworth in September with parents Jeanette and Adam, a former jockey himself, in attendance.
They were there again at Deepwater when she notched up another career highlight in winning half of the races on offer.
She rode Qukes for David Matts in the Benchmark 50 to win by more than two lengths before backing it up in the next race for David Campbell on Flying Euros followed by Court On for Robert Knight.
"Mum and dad, it was so good to have them there, they were stoked," Hillier said.
"They were really happy.
"They are good, they know that the travel is hard, we are in the car so much.
"They love the races and I suppose with dad being a jockey once too."
Being a jockey has always been a lifelong goal for Hillier and she'll forever be grateful for Newnham for giving her a start.
"Particularly in racing, it's not often people go out of their way to help you follow your dreams and he did," she said.
"I will forever be appreciative of that.
"He is one of the leading trainers in Sydney and has plenty going on but he still checks up on my rides, calls me and is still giving advice and things like that, even though he's not technically my boss anymore.
"I am really lucky to have that."
And if she gets the chance to ride in Sydney again, she will jump at it.
Hillier will mount up again in Scone on Friday and Tamworth this Saturday.
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