Cox Plate Won by Maiden & Apprentice!

More on apprentice Chad Schofield

Cox Plate-winning jockey Chad Schofield defied dad's wishes to begin career
by: Christian Nicolussi
From: The Daily Telegraph

GLYN Schofield couldn't believe his eyes when an email from the South African Jockey Academy lobbed in his inbox.
Unbeknownst to him and wife Tiffany, their teenage son Chad Schofield had secretly applied to the academy back in their homeland.

Chad was sick and tired of being told he couldn't follow in his father's footsteps and become a jockey.

"We had been in Sydney two years when the South African Jockey Academy sent an email and said they had accepted Chad," Glyn said yesterday as he continued to celebrate Chad's memorable Cox Plate triumph.

"I said to Chad, 'what's going on here?', and he said, 'you won't let me ride, so I'm going back to South Africa to become a jockey'.

"I said to Tiff, 'the kid is serious about what he wants to do, so we better help him on his way'."

Chad Schofield, 19, became a household name on Saturday after his Cox Plate triumph on Shamus Award. He's still an apprentice.

But just who is racing's latest Boy Wonder?

The Daily Telegraph learned yesterday Chad loves the Waratahs, and has a golf handicap of 16. Despite moving to Melbourne, he hasn't embraced AFL.

He started his apprenticeship with Rosehill trainer and fellow South African David Payne. Chad was going to link with Mark de Montfort at Warwick Farm, but Glyn said there were accommodation issues.

He learned to ride on Centennial Park, and labelled that gelding, Gregers, Whisper Downs and Shamus Award as his favourite horses.

He has red hair, but older sister Whitney has dark hair and younger sister Demi, 16, is a blonde.

After a mountain of interviews, Chad made the lonely two-and-a-half hour drive down the freeway by himself to ride at the Sale Cup meeting.

"It's a nice drive and it will give me time to soak it up and appreciate what I've done," Chad said.

"It's starting to sink in. It's just incredible I've achieved what everyone dreams of achieving, and I'm still an apprentice. It's fantastic.

"Now I've got a taste of it, I want more and to experience that high again. I'll keep working hard and hopefully more opportunities will come my way. People can see I can get the job done on the big stage."

Schofield made a point of giving the Danny O'Brien-trained Shamus Award a rap - the colt who was a maiden and rated $101 in the countdown to the Cox Plate.\

"I don't think there's been enough respect paid to the horse," Chad said.

"Everyone is saying he's a maiden and it was an upset, but he's a very, very good colt, and he's beaten some of the best horses in the land, and he's only a three-year-old. A lot of credit has to go to the horse, he's a very good animal."

Schofield starts a suspension from today, but is hoping he can land a ride in the Melbourne Cup. Bass Strait, Let's Make Adeal and Araldo are "in the pipeline" should any of them qualify.

Glyn was the happiest man in racing as messages from all over the world continued to flood in. He and Chad celebrated at the casino late Saturday, and had no shortage of punters keen for photos.

And to think it all started with an email.