Around the world, the oldest jockeys to win G1 races in different regions: Africa - Andrew Fortune (58y 266d), 2026 Cape Town Met Europe - Lester Piggott (57y 311d), 1993 Moyglare Stud Stakes Oceania - Grant Cooksley (57y 265d), 2017 Tarzino Trophy Asia - Norihiro Yokoyama (56y 93d), 2024 Tokyo Yushun Australia - Kevin Mitchell (56y 13d), 1985 All Aged Stakes 📸 @ChaseLiebenberg @NZTM_TWEET @j_taro @smh

Mike Smith became the oldest jockey ever to win a Grade 1 in North America in yesterday's Santa Anita Derby aged 60y 237d. Not yet the oldest globally - Jorge Ricardo was 62y 343d, winning the G1 Grande Premio Ipiranga on Opazo in 2024. 📸 @benoitphoto_ @jockeyclubdesp

Since 1975, the top G1-winning jockeys are: Frankie Dettori - 296 John Velazquez - 240 Mike Smith - 232 Jerry Bailey - 219 Ryan Moore - 218 Chris McCarron - 175 Jorge Ricardo - ≈160 Gary Stevens - 157 Pat Day - 142 Javier Castellano - 140 Pat Eddery - 139 Michael Kinane - 135 Laffit Pincay Jr - 132 James McDonald - 131

More deep dives like this coming up under my new brand, @TheStatManAU - not just racing but hopefully applying similar principles in other areas too.

Only 205 of the 467 - 43.90 per cent - won on debut. A further 144 finished second or third, meaning that 74.73 per cent finished in the placings on debut. Two future G1 winners finished 13th on debut - and both won G1 races on the same day: Johnny Get Angry and September Run.

Abroad, 36 future Aussie G1 winners debuted in New Zealand, 30 in Great Britain, 12 in Ireland, 10 in France, four in Japan, two each in Germany, Hong Kong and the US and one in South Africa. Te Rapa (NZ) had five while Avondale (NZ), Yarmouth (GB) and Chantilly (FR) had four.

In Australia, 154 debuted in NSW, 152 in Victoria, 27 in Western Australia, 21 in Queensland, nine in South Australia, three in the ACT and one each in Tasmania and the Northern Territory. Among the tracks to produce a G1 winner are Gunnedah, Inverell, Moruya and Alice Springs.

Randwick has produced the most G1 winners on debut with a total of 34 - 26 on the course proper, eight on the Kensington track. Canterbury is second with 22 while Flemington and Warwick Farm are equal third with 21. Newcastle is fifth with 18 - 15 course proper, three Beaumont.

So where did they begin their careers? The 467 Group 1 winners started out at 125 different racecourses across 10 countries and four continents. All six Australian states and both territories are also represented.

Since the start of 2016, there have been 744 Group 1 races run in Australia. They have been won by 467 individual horses, from Abbey Marie to Zoutori; from Winx and her 22 Group 1 wins in that time period (not including her 2015 successes) to 326 winners of a single G1 race.

Last weekend’s Randwick Guineas winner Sheza Alibi began her career finishing second at Rockhampton. It was a reminder that elite horses can come from anywhere. Here's a look at where Australia's Group 1 winners have begun. 🧵

Ka Ying Rising is now the highest-earning sprinter of all time, jumping above Bella Nipotina and Nature Strip. He is into 15th on @idolhorsedotcom's all-time list (in USD), jumping ahead of horses like Kitasan Black and Gold Ship. Now at USD$15m! idolhorse.com/horse-racing-n…

The G1 Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini goes to Joao Moreira on Obataye, who now has a @BreedersCup Turf berth. It's Moreira's eighth G1 of 2025 worldwide, adding to three in Japan, four in Brazil. Two of his Japanese G1 winners - Embroidery, Satono Reve - run at Sha Tin today.

Sha Tin 50 years ago. The racecourse was built on reclaimed land - the reclamation began in 1973 and was in progress when this picture was taken. It would be finished in 1976, construction on the track and grandstand began in 1977 and the racecourse opened in October 1978.

Should Ka Ying Rising win the Hong Kong Sprint, he'll be the first horse in 28 years to have come through the Sydney spring that same campaign. The last was Catalan Opening, who won the Hong Kong Bowl - the precursor to the Hong Kong Mile - in 1997. Monopolize (Hong Kong Bowl twice in 1995 and 1996) and Kessem (1990 Hong Kong Cup) also came through the Sydney spring before winning in Hong Kong in December.

Congratulations to EQUINOX on being named world’s best racehorse of 2023 with a big 1️⃣3️⃣5️⃣ rating! 🏆 What an honour it was to go to Shadai a couple of weeks ago to film with Equinox! 😍 #イクイノックス | #LonginesWorldRacingAwards | #競馬 xitter.cf/whr/status/17497883417…