Luke Nolen is hoping his triumph aboard I Wish I Win in the $10 million Golden Eagle keeps him fresh in the minds of other trainers as he strives for more rides.
Nolen gave I Wish I Win every chance on Saturday at Rosehill and the economical run turned out to be the defining factor, with the four-year-old prevailing by just a nose over the 1500-metre race.
The 42-year-old jockey declared after the race he was going to be “nice and bloody pissed after this one”, but told SEN’s Whateley on Monday that the enormity of the day had taken its toll.
“Honestly, (I didn’t celebrate) as hard as I did in my early 30s, late 20s,” Nolen laughed.
“But in saying that, by the time I got home it was nearly 10:30PM. We had a stewards enquiry on course, I had an hour to get to the airport and lucky I only had carry on (luggage) because me and Pete (Moody), we only just made the last flight, otherwise I think we might have been celebrating at the Coogybarra** hotel (in Sydney).
“But we made the flight home, Pete had a couple of beers, a couple of XXXX longnecks on his deck when he got home and I think I had two beers and when I got home I rolled into bed pretty quick, I was knackered.”
The win continues a long-running association between Moody and Nolen, with the former most notably teaming up with Blac Caviar. With Moody’s second coming as a trainer in full flight, Nolen is enjoying plenty of success for the famous racing name.
However, he revealed he’s receiving a lack of support from other trainers at present, despite riding as well as he ever has.
“I work pretty hard for both the Hayes camp and Moody’s camp, outside of them I don’t get a great deal of offers... I haven’t lost any ability, I’m still riding as good as any, and Pete’s probably said that a couple of times this season and he’s happy the way we’re going,” Nolen added.
“He places them well and they’re always capable of winning races, so it’s good to be part of a team like Pete’s and also Lindsay Park (Hayes brothers).
“What separates the blokes at the bottom and the top is opportunity honestly, I don’t get quite as many as I’d probably like but I’m more than making the most of what I’m getting.”
Nolen backed up from his Rosehill heroics on Saturday with three rides at Mornington the following day. The veteran hoop has ridden three winners in his last 50 rides.