Is there anything that superstar jockey Damian Lane cannot do?
Fresh from winning the 43rd Group 1 of his career on Saturday when Treasurethe Moment dazzled in her return in the G1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield, Lane travelled north to compete in the Sydney Marathon just 16 hours later, clocking a personal best of 2:42.49 and finishing 197th of 32,988 runners.
“It was a busy weekend but definitely one to remember,” Lane told Idol Horse. “It was a great morning weather-wise and a very picturesque course, so it was nice. There were a few rolling hills, but it was pretty, there was a lot of change of scenery and it was a beautiful course.”
It was the first time that the Sydney Marathon was designated as a “marathon major”, joining Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York among the best road races on the planet.
The 42km route took the field over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, within sight of Randwick Racecourse – where Lane completed the ATC Australian Derby and ATC Australian Oaks double earlier this year aboard Aeliana and Treasurethe Moment respectively – and back towards the city’s business district.
When Lane crossed the finish line in the shadow of the Sydney Opera House, he had lowered his personal best by almost eight minutes – behind winners Hailemaryam Kiros (2:06.06) and Sifan Hassan (2:18.22) as well as the legendary Eliud Kipchoge (2:08.31) but comfortably among some of the fastest marathon runners from the world over.
“It’s a hobby that I took up about three years ago now,” he said. “Running has always been a part of my fitness regime anyway, so I just decided to do a little bit more of it which allowed me to get away from the monotony of day-to-day racing.
“Dehydrating yourself the day before raceday, as you do as a jockey, is not really the ideal preparation but I don’t know if I could go much quicker than that. I might be able to go a little bit quicker but I don’t think there would be heaps in it.”
Lane says that elite running and race riding aren’t as different as they may appear on paper.
“It doesn’t differ a lot and, really, race riding keeps your fitness pretty high no matter what you do,” he said. “For marathons or for any road running, it’s really more just conditioning your legs for the constant pounding on pavement. As far as aerobic fitness goes, riding is pretty much up there in terms of how strenuous it is. I think it would probably be underestimated how much goes into a race, although it’s only a couple of minutes, just with how high your heart rate does get and the physicality of controlling a racehorse as well.”
When it comes to running a world-class marathon time or winning some of the biggest races on the planet, Lane says that they vary in degrees of difficulty.
“It’s not easy, but running a marathon, everything is in your control, you can start training for a marathon today if you want to,” he said. “I’d say winning a big race like the Tokyo Yushun, for instance, is more difficult because a career’s worth of work goes into getting that ride and then you need everything to go right too.”
Treasurethe Moment emerged as an early spring star with her victory in Saturday’s G1 Memsie Stakes. It was the Matt Laurie-trained mare’s fourth Group 1 win following victories in the G1 VRC Oaks (2500m), G1 Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m) and the G1 ATC Australian Oaks (2400m), and her ninth win in succession.
“She’s as responsive a horse as I’ve ridden,” Lane said. “You give her a squeeze and it’s instantaneous, she doesn’t take a stride or two strides, she just responds immediately. It’s something that not many horses have. That’s going to take her a long way in some of these big races in the spring.”
Which big race Treasurethe Moment targets is yet to be determined by her owners Yulong Investments, but her ultimate goal will likely either be the G1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) on October 18, the G1 Cox Plate (2040m) on October 25 or the $10 million Golden Eagle (1500m) on November 1.
“The Cox Plate would be my recommendation,” Lane said. “Although she won two Oaks just on class, you could see that it took the brilliance out of her legs a little bit. I think she’s going to be best at around 2000m I think, she’s got such a good turn of foot too which is so electric at that trip.”
Lane won the Cox Plate in 2019 aboard star Japanese mare Lys Gracieux and believes Treasurethe Moment has a number of similar attributes.
“They are different racehorses and so it’s hard to compare them,” he said. “They both have the ability to race at a strong speed for a prolonged distance and both of them have got great attitudes, they are both very competitive mares and have an eagerness and a willingness to win.” ∎
