Cooksley sticks to tried and true philosophy

From the time as a teenager when he burst on the scene as a Great Northern Steeplechase-winning jockey, Grant Cooksley has let his actions do the talking.
His story is one of the most remarkable of any leading jockey, and now he’s making waves as a trainer, as demonstrated last Saturday when he produced the quinella in the new season’s first northern region stakes race, the Gr. 3 Cambridge Stud Northland Breeders’ Stakes.
The man known by the nickname Cookie had grown up in racing as the son of Colin Cooksley, whose wins as a jumps jockey included the 1962 Great Northern Hurdles on Elrey, while later as a trainer he won the 1975 Wellington Derby and New Zealand St Leger with Kenann.
His son made his first headlines as an 18-year-old apprentice through his association with the dashing Marton jumper Ballycastle. The combination’s first major win was the Waikato Steeplechase in May 1978, and the following month they added the Great Northern and McGregor Grant Steeplechases over the Ellerslie hill, making Ballycastle the first horse to complete that treble since World War ll.
Ballycastle’s Great Northern time of seven minutes, 39.35 seconds encompassing 6400m and three circuits of the Ellerslie Hill was a record that was never bettered, and with the closure of the steeplechase course at northern headquarters it will stand forever.
From thinking his teenage physique was predestined to life as a jumps jockey, Cooksley got his weight under control and after moving north to the Takanini training centre, where his father Colin was based, others also saw something more in the quietly-spoken young man.
Leading Takanini trainers such as Ray Verner and Colin Jillings as well as respected conditioners elsewhere woke up to what Cooksley had to offer and into the 1980s he established himself firmly in flat jockey ranks.
One of his early major wins was the 1983 New Zealand 2000 Guineas on Canterbury three-year-old Gaffa, and from feature Ellerslie jumps winner, he added a string of big flat races on the same track. His list included the 1986 New Zealand Derby on Tidal Light, 1987 Railway on Diamond Lover, 1989 Auckland Cup on Spyglass, another two Derbys on Cavallieri in 1992 and Look Who’s Talking in 1994, plus two more Auckland Cups on Yobro in 1997 and Able Master three years later.
Into the 1990s Cooksley’s career took another trajectory, to begin with in Sydney and extending to Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore. His Sydney record included two Sydney Cups, three Metropolitans and a Doncaster, while he also rode two Golden Slipper runners-up and another in the Melbourne Cup.
By the time he made the decision in 2000 to return permanently to New Zealand, his overall tally of wins stood at more than 2,500, but his career in the saddle was still some years from over. Unfinished business included taking his New Zealand total past 1,000 wins in 2011 – where else but at Ellerslie – and in the spring of 2017 something special to cap all his other feats.
At age 57, riding Close Up in the Tarzino Trophy at Hastings, Cooksley surpassed Noel Harris as the oldest New Zealand jockey to win a Group One race. That also matched what is believed to be a world Group One age record set in 1980 by the legendary Lester Piggott when he was a 57-year-old in the Moyglare Stakes at the Curragh.
Close Up was one of 10 wins in what was to be Cooksley’s penultimate season as a jockey, and he after adding just one more in the 2018-19 season, he swapped licences to go into a training partnership with Byerley Park-based Bruce Wallace.
There was already plenty of history to Cooksley’s relationship with the Wallace stable, including Group One wins at home and in Australia on the likes of Lord Revenir, Star Dancer, Able Master and Kingston Bay, and that shared success has continued.
When So Naive led home stablemate Toruk Makto in Saturday’s Northland Breeders’ Stakes, the Wallace-Cooksley tally after five seasons stood at 41 wins. Last season was their best together with 14 wins from 99 starters, including the Gr. 3 Queen Elizabeth ll Cup with Trust In You and the Gr. 3 Counties Bowl with Sacred Satono.
The latter became the pre-post favourite for Saturday’s Gr. 2 Waikato Stud Foxbridge Plate after winning both his lead-up trials and will be ridden by Ryan Elliot in this weekend’s spring feature curtain-raiser.
“There’s no pressure, whatever he does on Saturday he can improve on that,” Cooksley says with a view to what comes later, hopefully beginning with the Gr. 1 Tarzino Trophy at Hastings on September 7. “What he really needs is 1400 metres, but everything’s good with him. He’s a five-year-old entire now but he’s easy to look after.”
Cooksley also his eyes on Hastings with his Ruakaka quinella pair, but if one or both make the trip, it will be for the Gr. 2 Hawke’s Bay Guineas on the second day of the carnival.
“It was good to see them go so well, you could hardly wish for a better start to the season. So Naive has a little bit to go yet, he’s a decent sort of young horse and Hawke’s Bay is probably the way to go with him. The other bloke has always had the ability even though he’s been a little bit weak, he’s still growing into himself.”
Proven stayer Trust In You, who last summer backed up from his Dunstan Horsefeeds Stayers’ Final win on Boxing Day with victory in the Queen Elizabeth ll Cup six days later at Pukekohe, opened his campaign in the open sprint at Ruakaka.
“He had to get his season going and the weather wasn’t ideal, especially with all that kick-back, so at least he’s on the way.”
With Wallace heavily engaged in his construction company, day-to-day running of the stable belongs with Cooksley, which works well for both parties.
“Bruce and I go back a long way and we discuss everything, but he pretty much leaves it to me. I’m enjoying things as they are and we’ve got plenty to look forward to.
“As well as a dozen so older horses, we’ve got 10 just turned two-year-olds from the sales that we’re just starting off, so it’s good to have them coming through.”