Lyle Hewitson is an apprentice like no other, since his first win as an Apprentice Jockey on Blizzard Belle at Fairview on 18 March, he has breathtakingly notched up 33 victories and 87 places in the space of 3 months. However, on Sunday at Fairview, he won what he describes “as the most exciting and special race he has won is his racing career so far!”
Aboard CAPTAIN SPLENDID, trained by Justin Snaith, Lyle won the Grade 3 World Sports Betting East Cape Derby, which was his first Graded Race victory. When asked how the race went Lyle calmly explains “my horse had the widest draw and I simply followed my trainer’s instruction of dropping my horse out. My horse was very calm and relaxed and coming into the straight, I followed a fancied runner and switched to the inside rail, and when I asked the question, my horse gave me a nice kick and stayed on very well for the win!”
When asked why this win was such a special victory, Lyle explained “that while this was my first graded race win, it was more special because my Gran and Dad were there, my Dad met me at the Winner’s Box and gave me a huge hug and told me that he was proud of me.” Lyle also said the huge crowd on-course made the victory very exciting because there was an amazing atmosphere and vibe at the racecourse.