New mum Montana Philpot enjoying life on and off the track

By Jordan Gerrans

The career of Montana Philpot has been littered with obstacles when it comes to the young apprentice riding with consistency.

Dating back to the 2020-21 season when she debuted as a hoop, Philpot’s journey as a jockey has been of a constant ‘stop-start’ nature.

While the majority of her riding setbacks have been because of injury, the 25-year-old is not complaining about the latest reason she was away from the saddle on race day.

About nine months ago Philpot welcomed a baby son – Noah – into the world.

After having her last ride at Kilcoy in late June of 2023, the smiling youngster celebrated her first winner as a mother on Saturday afternoon at the Gold Coast aboard King Spirit for her boss Stuart Kendrick.

The Sunshine Coast-based hoop slowly built up her trackwork load, then jump-outs and trials in the time following Noah’s birth to bring back her strength and confidence.

After battling an array of injuries in the early stages of her apprenticeship, the lightweight rider admits she felt a great sense of achievement when she made her return earlier this month.

Once she was sitting in the jockeys room and had put her riding boots on, Philpot knew it was ‘game time’.

“It has been a long process and a slow journey – I didn’t want to rush it coming back,” the apprentice hoop said.

“It is hard to get your body back to race riding, everything changes when you are pregnant and then obviously with childbirth, your hips move.

“I personally struggled a little bit during the pregnancy towards the end because I had previously injured my hips.

“It took a little while longer and I had a C-section, as well, so I needed to make sure my core was nice and strong.

“I took my time in coming back and I just wanted to spend some time with my little family. I feel strong and fit now, it is great.”

King Spirit was the galloper Philpot partnered on race day earlier this month in her comeback and she was chuffed to grab her first winner back aboard him at Aquis Park on Saturday.

Leading Caloundra trainer Kendrick has watched Philpot closely along her journey and couldn’t be prouder to see her back doing what she is passionate about, as well as being a mother at the same time.

“She is a lovely girl as everyone knows and she has had her fair share of incidents over the last three or four years,” Kendrick said.

“She has always been very determined and I think that is one thing with her, she has always wanted to be a jockey and a good jockey at that.

“Every time she gets going and things are starting to go in the right direction, something goes wrong and she has a fall.

“She has had to bounce back and this time, she is back into the swing of things and she is going terrific.”

Philpot has always had the talent to ride winners - it was just getting out there on race day more often that has been her trouble.

The daughter of former hoop Gus collected 39 winners in the 2021-22 campaign and struck at almost 17 per cent.

In that season she took 232 total rides on race day.

In all the seasons combined since then, she hasn’t tallied half as many winners or total rides as that campaign.

Philpot and her boss Kendrick are hopeful the injury setbacks are behind her and she is set to progress to riding in the city soon enough.

“We would like to see her get to town and do very well,” the Caloundra trainer said.

“She was heading in the right direction before she had her most recent break, she was down to two kilograms at the provincials with her claim. 

“Horses run for her, she has really good balance on a horse.

“She has a good race brain, as well, and puts them in the right position, which takes her a long way.

“The girls are on fire at the moment, the top jockeys at the moment are Cejay Graham and Angela Jones, and there is no reason why Montana cannot follow in their footsteps.”

Fellow leading Caloundra mentor David Vandyke was quick to praise Philpot who he has supported with trial rides in her latest comeback.

“She is a good hard worker,” Vandyke said.

“She has a lovely girl and has a good attitude.”

Kendrick says Philpot is an essential part of his stable, riding trackwork every morning and has been loyal and hard-working throughout her career.

A winner at the Gold Coast on Saturday was a welcome boost for Philpot but nothing compares to her home environment with partner Ned and their growing son.

As the young fella is nearing his first birthday, Philpot says it is incredible to watch her son grow into the person he will become.

“It is amazing to see his little personality shine through and his little characteristics,” she said.

“He can be shy at first but he is very cheeky. He is a very, very good baby to be honest, I often have people tell me how great he is.

“He goes everywhere with me, things like the mechanical horse and everything like that. He is a good kid and I do not think he is far off walking.”

Being a young mum aiming to become a city-level rider has been a juggle for Philpot and her partner Ned, who is working full-time himself, but they are making it work.

She says they have a great support network of family and friends who have been instrumental in helping with Noah over the last nine months.

“One thing I have had throughout my career is the support from Stuart, other trainers, my family and just people in the racing community,” she said.

“Everyone has been patient and excited to see me comeback.

“Stuart has been understanding, he has always put me on his horses every time I have come back.”

Philpot is also part of the growing Damian Browne Mentoring Program at Caloundra and will often take Noah in to sit on the mechanical horse as she works on her fitness and watches race replays.

She is also one of many jockeys who have so far benefited from Racing Queensland’s Maternity Support Scheme.

The scheme was introduced in September 2020 to provide financial support for both female jockeys and harness racing drivers during their pregnancies.

With participants unable to access the Federal Government’s Paid Parental Leave Scheme until the birth of their child, RQ’s Maternity Support Scheme was born.

Eligible participants receive an amount equal to the average weekly income they earned from riding or driving in races during the past 12 months, capped at $750 per week for a period of 20 weeks.

Philpot has three rides at Caloundra on Friday as her comeback gains momentum before she heads to Ipswich for two more bookings on Saturday.