Sport
20 November, 2024
One final salute: Ballard gets another fairytale finish at Mount Isa
Keith Ballard bowed out with a win on a horse trained by his wife Denise.
Keith Ballard had the grin of a Cheshire cat as he produced the perfect fairytale to finish his long and storied riding career.
Yet the smile wasn’t just because he was retiring on a winning note – riding Metal Bar to victory for wife and trainer Denise.
He was rapt because he had just been given one more great ride.
After 55 years, 9578 rides and 1779 winners, KB might have been calling it time, but he’ll always be a jockey and every jockey craves a great ride.
Metal Bar gave him just that in the Julia Creek Cup (1450m), which was transferred to Mount Isa after a storm left McIntyre Park unable to race.
The boom horse of 2023, Metal Bar arrived at the Ballard stable in time for the Mailman Express meeting in August last year.
While he flopped as favourite in front of a big rodeo crowd, he went on to win his next five races before being tipped out for a spell.
Most, including Keith and Denise, thought he’d continue on his winning ways in 2024. However, horses are not machines and Metal Bar simply didn’t return to his best when he returned to the track.
The form guide says the seven-year-old gelding had a first-up second placing at Richmond and a second-up win at Mount Isa, yet the galloper just didn’t look his usual self.
This was proven in his next three starts, where Metal Bar failed to run a place.
An issue with his leg was proving troublesome and the Ballards tried several techniques to get him right. Eventually, they fixed him.
In the last month, punters have been treated to the Metal Bar of 2023. Apprentice jockey Tom Orr enjoyed two sizzling wins on him at TAB meetings, before Keith was handed the keys on Saturday.
The 71-year-old jockey said he was quietly confident heading into the barriers.
“I thought the other horse (The Carpenter), with the weight he had on his back, it was going to be tough on this track,” Keith said.
“It might have been a bit easier on the hard and fast track (at Julia Creek). Dan and I had spoke about riding him the same as Tom’s been riding him; be a little bit aggressive out of the gates – for a little while he was being a little bit too keen but he came back to me.”
It turned out to be the perfect steer.
While bookmaker Denis Comerford kept Metal Bar safe at $1.40, knowing that punters would be backing Keith in his last ride, most judges thought it would be a match race between The Carpenter and Metal Bar.
The opposing tactics from both jockeys determined the outcome.
While Metal Bar went forward in a high-pressure opening 600m, The Carpenter took a sit off the speed. On the heavy sand, the Cloncurry sprint star couldn’t pick up as he normally would and that allowed Ballard’s mount to kick clear and win with ease.
Keith even gave another salute for the crowd.
“It was great to get a win but I’m really happy that this horse is back to his best,” the Hall of Famer told North West Weekly.
“We were worried about him for a while.”
Keith, who had been riding with a piece of leather stitched into his riding boots to avoid having to buy a new pair, said he would still be seen at the races.
“I think they are taking bets to see if I’ll come back next year because my licence doesn’t run out until July but after all this fuss I don’t think I’ll be allowed to make a comeback,” he said.
The veteran jockey said he had done more interviews in the past fortnight than in his entire 55-year riding career and was glad that racing was getting some positive coverage in the media.
“It’s not my favourite thing but the fact that it’s about racing and it’s all been good ... I’d attest that racing gets put in the newspapers for for all the wrong reasons because some reporters just thrive on that stuff,” he said.
The Ballards will miss the final meeting of the 2024 North West calendar, set down for Mount Isa on November 30.
They are off to a wedding and then Hong Kong for a much-deserved holiday.
