40,000 Miles In 60 Days: The Mind-Boggling Travel Schedule Of An International Jockey
A hectic itinerary plane-hopping the globe is a modern-day reality for a top international rider, says Tom Marquand.
IF YOU WANT to catch up with one of the world’s best jockeys in 2025, then be prepared to plan a few days in advance and make sure you are flexible. There’s a good chance they are jetting off to a different time zone.
The likes of Ryan Moore, James McDonald, Rachel King and Tom Marquand will crisscross the globe to ride on the big stage without hesitation, whether it’s to Saudi Arabia, Sha Tin or Sandown Park.
But, as Marquand tells Idol Horse from outside the weighing room in Riyadh, that is exactly what is required for a modern-day jockey to stay at the top of the international pecking order.
“To be seen riding all over the world is really important as a jockey,” he said. “It’s obviously something that logistically takes quite a lot of working out, but I really enjoy competing on the world stage and you just have to take the opportunities when they arise.”
The 26-year-old, who earned the nickname ‘Aussie Tom’ thanks to his successes in Australia, notably with Addeybb, arrived in Riyadh for two rides on Saturday, one in a handicap and the other on a 20-1 shot in the G2 1351 Turf Sprint.
He flew to Saudi Arabia less than 24 hours after riding in Bahrain and only 72 hours after he won the finale around the tight-turning course at Happy Valley in Hong Kong on Wednesday evening.
Three countries, three flights and three different riding destinations in the space of four days is nothing new to jockeys like Marquand, a man who looked up to the globe-trotting maestro Moore as a youngster.
“I grew up watching Ryan Moore travelling around the world and riding everywhere and I think my drive to do it essentially comes from that,” he said. “Everyone has a person they look up to and try to emulate when they start their career and I’m very fortunate to have been given those opportunities to ride all around the world.
“I’ve done India, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Japan, England, Qatar and Hong Kong all since the beginning of the year. Wow, it has been quite busy when you list them like that.”
By the time Marquand lands at Chek Lap Kok airport en route to his ride aboard Divano in Sunday’s Classic Cup at Sha Tin, the Classic-winning rider will have flown more than 40,000 miles and ridden in eight countries in the first two months of 2025.
When asked how his mind and body cope with the constant travel, Marquand, who finished 10th in the Longines World’s Best Jockey rankings for 2024, said there is no “secret” to consistently being able to perform around the globe. Like all of the travelling riders in the weighing room in Riyadh, he is driven by his competitive spirit and determination to be the best.
“Obviously sleep is probably the biggest concern of all, but personally, I’m lucky that I can sleep quite well on planes so it makes it pretty easy in that regard,” he said.
“I feel like keeping busy is key for me being able to do it all. Just getting off a plane and being able to go straight to a gym or something like that makes a big difference.”
On a weekend where the titanic tussle between Forever Young and Romantic Warrior in the Saudi Cup took centre stage, a collection of top jockeys descended on the King Abdulaziz Racecourse before shooting off to compete elsewhere around the world.
Take James McDonald, who came agonisingly close to a win for the ages on Romantic Warrior. Just 14 hours after he passed the winning post in Riyadh, the Kiwi superstar had flown to Hong Kong and steered Voyage Bubble to Group 1 glory at Sha Tin.
For Rachel King, there were less than 48 hours between her second-place finish in the International Jockeys’ Challenge in Riyadh on Friday and her top-level win aboard Costa Nova in Japan, where she became the first female to win a Group 1 contest on the JRA circuit.
It was a similar story for two-time G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe-winning jockey Cristian Demuro. He was in the winners’ enclosure celebrating success in a Maiden contest at Cagnes-Sur-Mer the day after his win in Saturday’s US$1.5 million race for Arabians in Riyadh.
“Racing is such an open playbook,” Marquand said. “In theory, Hollie [Doyle] and I could probably up sticks tomorrow and move to a number of 10 different countries with the experiences we’ve managed to have riding around the world.
“Everything is connected and because you are doing all this travelling and competing on the big stages in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, if a door does open one day, hopefully you’re in the right position to take it both mentally and profile-wise.
“For now, though, as much as I love making these trips and competing internationally, my mind always gets drawn back to making sure I’m back home in time to rattle into the Flat season.” ∎
