Ashburton trainer Des Egdes’ step daughter Skye Gilbert is anticipating her fist ever race ride at Scottsville tomorrow aboard the Just As Well filly Just Rap with plenty of excitement.

Skye is based in Newmarket in the UK with the 25 time Gr 1-winning trainer Ed Dunlop and her apprenticeship license was granted at the end of November.

She said about tomorrow’s race, “I worked Just Rap on Saturday and she worked very well, she will be fit and well but it’s a competitive field.”

Skye is limited to riding down the straight for at least her first five rides so feels lucky to be given this opportunity.

Just Rap has run twice over the course and distance and on the second of those occasions finished 5,5 lengths back in a handicap off a 72 merit rating, so she should get closer on paper tomorrow off a 67 merit rating together with Skye’s 4kg claim.

Skye grew up with horses being the daughter of farrier Ford Wallace, who now practices in Cape Town, and showjumper Kim Egdes.

Showjumping and eventing were high on her list of priorities while growing up.

However, racing was where her ultimate ambitions lay.

She worked for her step father Des as a stable employee before departing for the UK four years ago.

She was taught all aspects of racing and horse care by Des and the same thread was picked up in her first eight months in the UK as a stable employee to Newmarket trainer Marco Botti.

She found it exhilarating to be living in racing’s Headquarters and spiritual home, Newmarket, where residents eat and sleep The Sport of Kings.

She later worked for a stud farm before joining Ed Dunlop.

Ed is the son of the 1995 British champion trainer John Dunlop, who won ten British classic races in an illustrious career. John played a pivotal role in the establishment of Middle Eastern influences in British horseracing, training Hatta, Sheikh Mohammed’s first winner as an owner at Brighton in 1977. He was also associated with Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum over a period of three decades.

Ed is immediately associated in world racing circles with the gallant warrior Red Cadeaux, who ran five times in the Melbourne Cup, finishing second three times.

He also trains Trip To Paris, who in 2015 won the Ascot Gold Cup, Britain’s most prestigious event for stayers. He went on to finish fourth in the Melbourne Cup.

Skye works Trip To Paris, among other horses, every day out on the Newmarket heath, which has a vast choice of grass gallops, as well as a polytrack or two.

The jockey qualifying system works differently in the UK to South Africa.

It is up to the trainer to whom the rider is attached to teach them the basics of race riding.

Skye, for example, was able to receive advice not only from Dunlop, but also from the jockeys attached to his yard. She also sought advice from Richard Perham, a former jockey who is now a “Jockey Coach” at the British School of Racing.

She has been able to hone her skills on a equicizer in a gymnasium which is just down the road from Ed’s yard.

It is up to the trainer to recommend youngsters for apprenticeship licenses.

“The trainer must decide whether it is worth taking a chance on a rider making it as a jockey,” explained Skye.

Before applying for the licence the rider should have completed a Level 2 Diploma in Racehorse Care. He or she would also be expected to be confident and competent in galloping a racehorse at speed, riding work on a racehorse and jumping a racehorse out of the starting stalls.

The Apprentice Jockeys licence allows riders aged between 16 and 26 years old, who are in full time paid employment with a UK based Licensed Racehorse Trainer, to ride in flat races against professional jockeys, but with a weight allowance to compensate for their inexperience.

As part of the application, the prospective jockey is required to attend, and satisfactorily complete, a five-day course at either the British Racing School or Northern Racing College. They must also undergo a medical examination.

Apprentice and Conditional jockeys who hold their licence in the UK are entitled to be allocated a qualified Jockey Coach. They receive coaching in all aspects of their careers from technical support to motivation, confidence, fitness and communication skills. The jockeys can continue to receive coaching until they have completed the season in which they ride out their claim. The funding is done through an annual grant from the Horserace Betting Levy Board as well as a contribution of between 3,75% and 7,5% of the jockey’s riding fee.

However, the trainer remains the rider’s guv’nor and Skye had to receive permission from Ed Dunlop to ride out here.

Skye still appreciates her South African roots and her idol is Anton Marcus.

“Anton Marcus is brilliant strategically and knows about his own and every other horse in every race he rides in,” she said. “I aspire to be like him.”

Des and Kim will be cheering for Skye from the course tomorrow and her father Ford will be glued to Tellytrack at 14h45 for the milestone moment.

Skye will be returning to the U.K in about two weeks time in preparation for the British Flat season.

By David Thiselton