The race to be crowned the winner of the 2023-24 RMBL Investments Rising Stars Series has entered the final furlong, with the last two heats set to take place at tomorrow’s Seymour meeting ahead of the Flemington finale later this month.
With a maximum of 36 points up for grabs - 24 across the two legs tomorrow and a further 12 in the final on Saturday, 20 July - up to three apprentices are still in the running to claim the coveted prize.
They are current leader Luke Cartwright (69 points), his closest rival Alysha Warren (58 points) and Sheridan Clarke, who occupies fifth place on 38 points and would need to win all three remaining races to stand any chance of overtaking Cartwright.
Tom Prebble (44 points) and Dakotah Keane (40 points), who currently sit third and fourth respectively in the series, are only riding in one of the two heats tomorrow so are unable to gain enough points to top the overall leaderboard.
Realistically the Rising Stars Series would appear to be a two-horse race between Cartwright and Warren, who have so far registered six wins between them in the apprentice-only contest.
Cartwright is set to pilot Nerone (Richard Laming) in the first of the Rising Stars heats tomorrow before he jumps aboard race favourite Magarten (Jerome Hunter) in the other leg. With five placings and a win from his last seven starts, the four-year-old gelding is racing very consistently and a third career victory would effectively seal the series title for Cartwright.
In the same race Warren, who does not have a ride in the previous heat, will partner London Bell for Sale trainer Damien Walkley.
Series points are awarded to the first five finishers in each of the Rising Stars heats, with the winning jockey receiving 12, while six points are awarded to the runner-up, four to the third placegetter, two points for fourth and one for fifth.
The overall winner of the series receives a $4,000 retail voucher, with a $2,000 voucher awarded to the second placed jockey and a $1,000 voucher for third.
Last year’s Rising Stars Series was won by Celine Gaudray, who currently sits in fourth place in the Victorian Metropolitan Jockeys’ Premiership.