Jasmine Cornish riding in her mother's footsteps

By Jordan Gerrans

If not for a busted ankle, Sheree Drake would still love to be out there race riding as she approaches her 60^th birthday.

As injury ended her career in the saddle around four years ago, the Cedar Grove-based Drake is still fulfilling her riding dreams through her daughter – up-and-coming apprentice hoop Jasmine Cornish.

Less than a year on from her debut day in the saddle, the 19-year-old Cornish is ranked third across the Sunshine State this season for winners, with her name up there with some of the leading riders in Queensland.

While Drake can no longer ride, she loves taking Jasmine to the races, going over her replays with her and talking her through her journey and learnings, all things she experienced earlier in her life.

As Drake and partner Greg Cornish were never married, when regular racegoers see Sheree at the track supporting Jasmine, it can take them some time to put together that they are mother and daughter with different surnames.

“It is a bit surreal because I look at her out there and I think it is me,” Drake said.

“I can’t believe she is doing what I loved doing – something I wish I was still doing – but I can see what she is doing now, it is a really nice feeling.

“She has followed in my footsteps and it is surreal, it is hard to believe.”

At 58 years of age, Drake says she still gets itchy feet when she goes to the races, wanting to be out there with her daughter, but with horrific scarring on her ankle and foot from a bad fall, her riding days are over.

Greg also rode before turning his hand to training, he spent five years in the saddle before weight got the best of him.

As a youngster, Jasmine thought she would never ride, fearing she would also be too tall and heavy but has had little troubles with her weight so far in the early stages of her journey.

She does recall great memories of watching her mum, declaring she got more nervous back then compared to what she does in her own rides now.

“She was a very good jockey,” Jasmine said.

The success Greg has obtained in his training career through the use of his partner and daughter as jockeys is quite phenomenal when you compare it to other hoops he has used across his career.

Greg’s first triumph as a trainer was way back in 2004 and while he has had countless hoops ride his gallopers – he has never had the success rate with any other jockeys that he does with Jasmine and Sheree.

No jockey has ridden more than seven winners for Greg with Jasmine already notching 22 in the short time she has been in the saddle, while Sheree registered 158 before her career came to an end.

The same can be said for Jasmine.

The 19-year-old only gained her apprentice jockey licence on April 25 of last year and in that time, she has picked up 64 winners – 22 of which are for her old man – without riding more than four winners for any other trainer.

The family believe their training complex at Cedar Grove is behind their fortunes, not always having to take horses back and forth from the Beaudesert club every day, with their 1000-metre track suitable for most work.

Jasmine jokes that she has quickly become the boss of the stable over her father since she took out her riding licence.

“Knowing all the horses here so well, Dad and I work together on how the horses are going, he always tells me I know the horses better than he does,” Jasmine said with a laugh.

“When we get into a race, he tells me I know the horse and I know what to do.”

While Jasmine has had great success early in her career, her parents note that she is also a natural horsewoman, breaking in gallopers as well as playing a key role in the training process.

“She has definitely progressed quicker and faster than I would have thought,” Greg said.

“Not that I thought she wouldn’t be able to tide, she has always been able to do that, she has just gone ahead in leaps and bounds.

“She listens to everything you tell her; she takes it all and absorbs everything around her.

“She has had a good grounding here.”

While it helps to have parents that also rode, Greg thinks, he is giving all the credit for Jasmine’s excellent start to her career to his daughter, declaring she has earnt most of it herself.

Sheree, who rode over 300 winners in her career, has been blown away by Jasmine’s attitude and commitment to her craft.

“She puts everything into it, she doesn’t just go out there and ride, she studies in the form,” Drake said.

“I drive her to the races and she will be studying the form to see where the horses might be in her race, or where they can get, she watches all the replays, she puts a lot of work into it.

“She loves it and she really can ride.”

With the majority of Jasmine’s victories coming on the provincial scene this season, all involved say there is no rush to get her to the metropolitan level and will happily take their time.

Away from riding, Jasmine is studying towards a bachelors degree in veterinary technology at Gatton while also working at veterinary clinic at Jimboomba on a part-time basis.

Cornish and Drake also have another daughter Kirsty, 24, who rides track work for Gold Coast trainer Gillian Heinrich.

Jasmine suffered a fall while riding at Grafton on Tuesday and while she needed to give up her engagements this Saturday at Emerald with minor bruising, she is expected be back race riding next week.