By Jordan Gerrans
From swimming in croc infested waters while teaching kids cricket to having a contender in a feature Central Queensland juvenile race, Brendan Jones has taken a winding road to becoming a trainer.
The Sunshine Coast-based trainer only prepared his first winner last year and since the calendar has ticked over 2022, the emerging trainer has put together one of the better strike-rates in Queensland for his small team of gallopers.
In the last five starters who have represented the stable, a trio of those have been winners, with three-year-old gelding Sock'emsid accounting for two of the victories.
The son of Mahisara will go searching for the yard’s biggest ever triumph on Saturday in the Capricornia Yearling Sale Classic QTIS 3&4YO Handicap.
Even having a starter in a race like that seemed near-on impossible just a few years ago for Jones.
He has spent much of his life around cricket, working in Queensland and in the Northern Territory, including a stint in the remote community of Borroloola.
Jones was tasked with teaching Indigenous children cricket while in Borroloola.
During a fishing trip one day with a group of locals, their boat ran out of fuel with almost a kilometre to go, which forced everyone on board to swim back in waters that were known to be home to many croc's.
He lived to tell the tale and soon after Jones found himself chasing a full-time training career.
As well as his cricket commitments, Jones also spent time working for several barns on the Darling Downs, including Rex Lipp, Lindsay Hatch and Kevin Kemp.
The Jones stable’s pursuits are aided by his partner and jockey Louise Dillon.
“I told Louise that I did not want to go back into the racing industry unless I was doing it myself,” Jones said.
“A few years after moving to the Sunshine Coast I decided to get my own licence and I have not looked back since.
“We may as well have a crack while we can, get the young horses flowing through.
“You have got to keep the ball rolling over the next few years, stay patient and hopefully it pays off in the end.”
On top of Sock'emsid, the barn should have almost eight in work in the coming weeks, with gallopers such as Caldwell and Dratini set to come back for another preparation, while they also have some new babies on the way through.
It took Sock'emsid 10 attempts to break his maiden status but he quickly put two victories together at Kilcoy and Clifford Park in February.
He is being thrown in the deep end in the $75,000 CYS feature but Dillon thinks his recent improvement shows he deserves an opportunity.
“He has really switched on this prep, which has been really good to see,” Dillon said.
“He has always shown a bit of ability but he was just not there in the head. He is quite hard work but he has certainly come a long way.”