Opie Bosson
| Opie Bosson | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Owen Patrick Bosson |
| Occupation | Jockey |
| Born | 24 July 1980 New Zealand |
| Spouse | Emily Murphy |
| Significant horses | |
| Avantage, Gingernuts, Melody Belle, Mongolian Khan, Grand Archway, Probabeel, Quick Thinker, Te Akau Shark | |
Owen Patrick Bosson (born 24 July 1980), known by his short name Opie Bosson, is a jockey in Thoroughbred racing in New Zealand.
Riding career
Bosson started as an apprentice for Stephen Autridge, his godfather. He began his race-day riding career as a 15 year old on the 25 October 1995 with Comette at Dargaville and soon after had his first win on Fairlie Airlie at Gisborne.[1]
In the 1997 season he was the McBeath Apprentice of the Year at the BMW New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Awards and was eighth on the New Zealand Premiership, behind Lance O'Sullivan, with 75 wins from 703 starts.[2] The next apprentice was Mark Sweeney on 53 wins.
On 2 September 1998 Bosson rode the first Australian winner for Chris Waller, Party Belle, in a 2100m maiden race at Wyong.
His first Group 1 victory was Jezabeel in the 1998 Auckland Cup, aged 17.
In March 2019 Bosson surpassed the record of Lance O'Sullivan as the winner of the most New Zealand Group 1 races, with 63 when Melody Belle won the New Zealand Stakes at Ellerslie.[3]
As at the end of the 2021 season, Bosson has won:
- over 1,800 New Zealand races.[4]
- 78 Group 1 races (10 in Australia).
Personal life
Opie Bosson is the son of Owen and Glenda Bosson. Owen was a prominent amateur jockey.[2]
At the end of 2017, Bosson married TAB Trackside Television presenter Emily Murphy.[5]
Notable victories
The following are some of the major races Opie has won in New Zealand and Australia.
See also
References
- ^ "Opie Bosson Ready to Return – Te Akau Racing".
- ^ a b New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Annual 1997 (26th edition). Dillon, Mike, Editor. Mike Dillon's Racing Enterprises Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand.
- ^ "Racing: Huge year and record for Bosson". NZ Herald.
- ^ "Opie Bosson / Jockey Profile / RaceInfo / LOVERACING.NZ". loveracing.nz.
- ^ "Bosson eager for race day return". www.sen.com.au.
- ^ "Full Result 3.00 Ellerslie (NZ) | 13 April 1998 | Racing Post". www.racingpost.com.
- ^ "Virtual Form Guide - Top Jockey Opie Rapt In Darci". form.virtualformguide.com.
- ^ "Third Group I for Vosne Romanee > Australia and International Horse Racing news updated daily". www.thoroughbrednews.com.au.
- ^ "WATCH: Te Akau Shark claims first G1 in stunning fashion". Punters.com.au.
- ^ "Windsor Park Stud | Horse Breeding | Horse Racing | Cambridge, New Zealand | Big Day for NZ as Rip Van Winkle's Te Akau Shark Claims the Chipping Norton Stakes". windsorparkstud.co.nz.
- ^ "Racing: Opie Bosson wins Railway at Ellerslie with Avantage, but facing suspension for Karaka Million". NZ Herald.
- ^ Desk, New Zealand Racing. "Avantage wins seventh Group 1". RACING.COM.
External links
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