BROWNIE'S BLOG: HAPPY MEMORIES OF PERTH AS THE WESTERN AUSTRALIA CARNIVAL GETS INTO FULL SWING

By Damian Browne | Friday, November 28, 2025

Multiple Group 1 winning jockey Damian Browne might be retired from race riding, but his passion for racing still remains and he now gives back to the industry, offering invaluable mentorship to young apprentices wise enough to take on board his advice. Beyond that, Browne is as insightful as ever when offering his opinion on racing matters, with his knowledge gained from so many years in the saddle leaving him ideally placed to give an informed commentary on many aspects of the game. This is Brownie’s Blog, a blog which is exclusive to HRO.

The Western Australian Racing carnival is in full swing with some well-performed horses producing some excellent results.

It would be fair to say, WA might not receive full country-wide recognition for its efforts, and that is through no fault of their own.

It is hard because everybody is so into the Melbourne Cup carnival in spring time … and Sydney nowadays as well … and I guess once you get over that there is naturally a bit of a lull and, apart from racegoers in Perth, only very avid racing enthusiasts will stay engaged on a high level … but the fact is that this side of the seaboard probably doesn’t recognise it as much as they obviously do over there in Perth.

That doesn’t mean it is not good racing. It is good racing.

I have very happy memories of riding in Perth.

Both times I went over I had a bit of luck … and I found it to be a beautiful place, great racing and lovely people.
I only had four rides there … four Group 1’s, the two Winterbottoms and the two Railways.

Buffering won the Winterbottom twice, in 2013 and 2015. He didn’t compete there in 2014 as we went to Hong Kong instead where he ran in the Hong Kong Sprint, so we’ll never know if he could have landed a Winterbottom hat trick, an achievement that Overpass is shooting for this year.

Some visiting horses will like it there more than others. Some will take it all in their stride … the travel itself, the heat which is often in play and the giant flies they have there … it takes a bit of getting used to.

Not all horses can do it, but some thrive on it. I guess Overpass, like Buffering, is one of those.

It will be interesting to see how he goes on Saturday.
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Talking about good horses, there is clearly few better that the Hong Kong Champion Ka Ying Rising and I really hope that those Australian racegoers who witnessed his emphatic win in The Everest continue to follow him.

As I said when he was in Australia, I thoroughly enjoy watching the best horses do what they do best and that is exactly what was on display when Ka Ying Rising resumed with another demolition job in his first start back in Hong Kong.

The marvellous thing is that he does appear to still be doing it with something in hand and they are not average horse’s that he is beating.

It makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up when they turn for home and he sprints.

Yes, it does remind me of Black Caviar and Winx … but, no, I don’t want to get into trying to compare them, or anything like that … which I see some people are trying to do.

As a lover of racing I think you should just appreciate the horse and the race for what it is.

I will point out though, that Ka Ying Rising was bred on the North Island of New Zealand.

As you know all good things come out of New Zealand.

It’s a wonder Australia hasn’t tried to claim him yet … like they did Phar Lap.
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It is good to see that Sam Clipperton back in the saddle.
Sammy retired nearly a year ago now, citing the relentless pressure of race riding as the reason for his loss of motivation and enthusiasm at the time.

The pressure is there for all jockeys at all levels because of the importance of all runners performances for all connections. The pressure is constantly on the jockey is to not only perform well, but to bring their horse back safely.

Pressure is part of the job. It will never change … and when it gets too much, you have got to put a process in place to get you through those times when you are struggling.

That process could be different for each individual.

For Sammy, it was a choice to step away from the game. That has worked for him … he is revitalised both mentally and physically … and now he is ready to go again.

Sammy is a lovely guy and a very good rider. I wish him well.

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