By Jordan Gerrans
Warwick Satherley cannot actually recall when his last race ride was.
The 54-year-old has over the last year relocated to Central Queensland and will on Tuesday miraculously return to the saddle for the first time in around two decades.
Satherley was an accomplished hoop in his native New Zealand – riding winners in stakes’ races – before giving it away as he battled with his weight.
While the record books do not have an official date for Satherley’s last appearance in a race, the comeback hoop has a fair idea of when it was, but he is not completely sure.
“I cannot even remember the last time I rode, it would have been back in New Zealand before I went to Japan and I went to Japan in 2002,” Satherley said.
“It was always in the back of my mind – even when I was in Sydney – that I would get back into it at some stage.
“Now that my weight is stable and I can eat what I like at the moment, because dieting is the hardest part of being a jockey for me previously.
“It will be great to be out there again.”
Satherley late last year purchased a property in Central Queensland and soon after began riding track work for Rockhampton trainers such as Nick Walsh, Clinton Taylor and Kerrod Smyth.
At the 20 acre property, Satherley is spelling horses for other trainers as well as working up a small team himself.
He will eventually become a dual-licensed trainer and jockey in the Sunshine State when one from his own stable is ready to head to the races.
He has a promising two-year-old that he is hopeful can make an impact in CQ.
The Kiwi rode almost 100 winners in his previous stint in the saddle, which included a couple of stakes level races as well as a Cup or two.
He grew up around racing royalty in New Zealand – champion trainer Chris Waller.
“I worked with Chris back in New Zealand with Patrick Busuttin, I was apprenticed to him, Chris was there with him,” he recalls.
“We grew up in the same town with farming parents and stuff like that – everybody knew each other.”
Before moving to Queensland, Satherley spent four years with the Lee Curtis barn in the Harbour City riding work as well as riding pre-trainers in Japan before that.
Riding track work at Callaghan Park in Rockhampton quickly led to going to the trials and suddenly a comeback was on.
“My weight is really stable, I can walk around at 52kgs,” he said.
“A few people said to me at this stage that I should get back riding in races so I went and did a few at the trials.
“From there, I thought – why not?
“There is a lack of riders here so I thought I would get back into it.”