Tom Prebble up for the title fight in Rising Stars Final at Flemington

News.com.au

18-07-2025

Rising star apprentice jockey Tom Prebble wants to build on milestone winners and symbolic body art.
Prebble ink started with ' Scientific ' – the name of his first winner – tattooed in Chinese characters high on his right forearm.
Boxing gloves inside a custom playing card featuring the six of horseshoes highlights the right bicep – a nod to his first stakes winner, Title Fighter (Listed Straight Six).
With luck, a horse brand could be the next permanent mark of success, with Prebble to partner the Yulong-owned Sound It Out in Saturday's Rising Starts Series final at Flemington.
The son of Melbourne Cup-winning champion jockey Brett Prebble and Maree Payne must nail the ride to secure the coveted Rising Stars prize, with four apprentices still able to win.
Prebble has a three-point lead going into the final, 42 to 39, from Sarah Field.
Logan Bates (34) and reigning Rising Star winner Luke Cartwright (32) could also reshape the leaderboard with victory on Saturday.
Points are awarded to the top five race finishers on a 12-6-4-2-1 sliding scale.
Steph Hateley, stranded currently in third on 37 points, missed out on a ride in the final.
Hateley made a successful return last Thursday, rode a winner with her first ride back from a broken wrist after three months out.
Rose Hammond (28) could climb onto the podium on Saturday with a top two finish, pending other results.
Challengers missed a chance to build on tallies last Thursday week after rain washed out a scheduled Ballarat card, including the penultimate Rising Stars race.
'It's made Saturday a very close title race,' Prebble said.
'Four of us are in the race, if anyone wins, probably wins the series, it's going to come down to the wire.
'I'd love to win (race), my horse has drawn wide … but in these apprentice races, anything can happen.'
Pariah Pearl is $4.40 favourite, with Cartwright aboard, from Chris Waller -trained Sound It Out ($5).
Bates has Cindy Falls ($7.50), with Hammond (Lake Vostok, $12) and Field (Matriarch Rose, $23) booked on runners wider in the market.
Racing Victoria apprentice coach Alf Matthews praised the overall quality and depth of generation next.
'I believe we're actually in the process of producing three or four that could be superstars,' retired Group 1 jockey Matthews said.
Matthews said Rising Stars – a 24-race bimonthly series that culminates in a Flemington final – taught apprentice riders 'to target their ambitions'.
'It gives them something to strive for,' Matthews said.
'A prestigious award, the Rising Stars, Colin Madden (sponsor and part-owner of legend Black Caviar) has been a huge supporter for a long time.
'For some, it's the first time they get to ride at Flemington.
'It's a massive effort to get there … to ride at Flemington and some never get there.'
Prebble has six rides on Saturday including Zuppa Inglese ($5) and Zorro's Flight ($4) for Patrick and Michelle Payne — his uncle and aunty — and De Bergerac ($6), trained by Grahame Begg.
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Prebble leads the Melbourne apprentice jockeys' premiership by one (24-23) from Jaylah Kennedy, with four city meetings left.
'Anything could happen,' Prebble said.
'It's a very close race for the (Rising Stars) series and the (Melbourne) title.'
Kennedy has five rides on Saturday, including Flash Feeling at $13.
Prebble, hardworking and level-headed on and off the track, has deferred any new tattoos until the season is over.
The Yulong brand, YL monogram inside a circle, could be short-listed with a victory on Sound It Out.
'I don't really want to get random ones,' Prebble said.
'They all have a purpose … all tell a story. Dad doesn't like (tattoos), to be honest, that's why I want to keep them all having a purpose.'
A long and fruitful career in the saddle could put clean skin at a premium.
'That's what dad said,' Prebble laughed.
'But it wouldn't be the worst problem.'