29-05-2025
Jockey Anthony Darmanin chasing first mainland stakes win since 2019 in Bel Esprit Stakes at Caulfield
Winning Saturday's Listed Bel Esprit Stakes would be a good way to help jockey Anthony Darmanin comply with Victorian licence requirements.
Victorian jockeys must ride in at least 24 races in the state each year to retain their licence, a condition Darmanin is working through with the aid of leading trainers Ben, JD and Will Hayes.
Darmanin rides at all Tasmanian race meetings but lives in Melbourne where he rides work every day he is available at Lindsay Park's Flemington stable.
'They (the Hayes brothers) have been good to me,' Darmanin said.
'I have got to do my 24 Victorian rides to keep my licence in Victoria so I work for them every morning and they throw me a bone here and there, which is good of them.
'If good opportunities to get more come up, I'll take them but, I don't really push myself out there.
'Tassie is working really well for me so I just pretty much focus on Tasmania.'
Darmanin said he was happy with his riding life at the moment despite jumping on a plane to cross Bass Strait a couple of times a week.
Darmanin has ridden 63 winners in Tasmania at a 20 per cent strike rate, putting him 21 wins ahead of his nearest rival Kelvin Sanderson.
Darmanin hit the heights of Australian racing as part of the Mystic Journey story, winning the Group 1 Australian Guineas as well as the inaugural All-Star Mile in March 2019.
The jockey, who won the Launceston Cup in February, will chase his first stakes win on the mainland since the 2019 PB Lawrence Stakes in Saturday's Bel Esprit Stakes.
Darmanin will ride Stuart Gandy -trained Geegees Gemstone in the $175,000 feature.
The gelding is a $34 chance but Darmanin was keen to see how the winner of eight of 19 starts in Tasmania fared in a Melbourne contest.
'He's definitely got good ability but he's definitely a tricky horse to ride because he likes to think things always go his way,' Darmanin said.
'There's no races for him in Tassie so Stuart has decided to have a look to see if he's good enough to measure up in Melbourne.
'He won the (Tasmanian) Newmarket first-up last time in but after that, he wasn't going as well.
'Stuart says the horse, who has already landed in Melbourne, is really well so we're just hoping for a good showing.
'Saturday is obviously an unknown with this bloke but hopefully he can measure up.'
