When Brenton Avdulla left Sha Tin Racecourse on Saturday he had a smile on his face that made it look like he had just won a Group 1.
Of course Hong Kong’s final Group 1 of the season was last month and Avdulla’s elation wasn’t just because he is now heading for an early summer break due to suspension after a personal best season of 47 winners.
The beaming smile was because he had in fact just won a Group 1 race, albeit not as a jockey, but as the owner of greyhound Gus The Jet, who had won the Group 1 Vic Peters Classic Final as a 14-to-1 outsider in Avdulla’s homeland of Australia.
“I absolutely love it,” Avdulla said after watching a replay and post race interviews on his phone. “I’m not allowed to own racehorses and this is the next best thing. I have even got my handler’s licence and have loaded a dog into the starting boxes myself.”
Gus The Jet’s victory gave Avdulla back-to-back wins in the feature race after he won with Rinsed The Lot in 2024. Also in Gus The Jet’s ownership is Sydney trainer Joe Pride and his son Brave. Their dog has now won four races from seven starts.
✈️ Gus The Jet takes off!
— The Dogs (@Thedogs_com_au) July 5, 2025
He lands the @ladbrokescomau Vic Peters Classic Final in style at @wentyparkgreys tonight!#thedogs @wentyparkgreys @brentonavdulla @PrideRacing pic.twitter.com/936wPzPiPc
Avdulla heads into Hong Kong’s summer break as one of the big movers in the jockey rankings. The jockey nicknamed “the Gun” finished last season, his first full campaign in Hong Kong, equal tenth in the championship with 33 winners.
Thirteen of those were for Tony Cruz, who also provided Avdulla with Group 1 victories at home and abroad on California Spangle.
This season Avdulla has broadened his support base and the benefit has been a leap into fourth place in the standings. Avdulla still has solid standing in the Cruz camp – he rode nine winners for the trainer this season – but countryman John Size has now taken over as the jockey’s primary supporter. Size provided 17 winners for Avdulla this term and the trainer can change a rider’s fortunes more than any other in Hong Kong.
“John has been instrumental in my season,” Avdulla said. “Tony has been amazing for my career too with California Spangle but John has been the biggest influence this season.”
Not only are Avdulla’s 17 winners for Size the most he has had for any trainer but perhaps more importantly, they are the most by any jockey for the trainer, ahead of the trainer’s regular go-to guys Zac Purton (15) and Hugh Bowman (11).
“It’s a good position to be in riding the most winners for John when you look at the jockeys who usually fill that role, like Zac or Joao (Moreira),” Avdulla said. “It gave me a lot of confidence that John threw me the keys for a few nice rides and I got the job done. And it is nice to see him seven clear in the championship with three meetings remaining.”
Being Size’s number one option is a position that usually provides a leg-up to championship contender status but Avdulla didn’t want to be drawn on whether or not he could eventually challenge Purton for the title. Fair enough, given Purton’s four wins on Saturday took him to 132, close to double the amount of second-placed Hugh Bowman (68).
Avdulla isn’t prone to big statements anyway – and he was still basking in the afterglow of his Group 1 greyhound win regardless – so rather than set big goals the 34-year-old will be content with making steady progress in his third full season, starting September.
“I set the goal at the start of this season to finish top five or ride at least one winner per week over the 44 week season – I have passed that with 47,” he said. “Suspensions have hurt me this season, so maybe I can get past 50 next season? Hong Kong is all about opportunities, everybody here can ride, it is just getting on the right horse at the right time. It’s hard to get Zac or Hugh off a horse – they are both Hall of Fame jockeys. Maybe the next step is some more support from local trainers and that is where my improvement can come from.” ∎
