BEN THOMPSON IN DEMAND IN NEW ZEALAND

By Graham Potter | Friday, February 20, 2026

Ben Thompson is in demand in New Zealand, and he will make the trip south to take seven rides at Ellerslie on Saturday.

The Brisbane based jockey attracted attention in New Zealand when he partnered the Liam Birchley trained Dream Rica to victory in the NZ$1 million Karaka Millions 2YO on January 24 and things have rolled over from there.

“The rides I have this weekend came purely off the back off Karaka,” explained Thompson.

“The Auckland Racing Club expressed interest in me coming over. Obviously, Queensland is my main priority, but it did look like a good time to come over being before The Jewels and their lead-up races in Queensland … so it came down to being a good opportunity to head back there.’

Thompson has been roundly supported by top trainers at Saturday’s meeting. He has three rides for the Mark Walker / Sam Bergerson training partnership, two rides for Stephen Marsh, one ride for the Shaun Richie / Colm Murray training partnership and one for the Barry Donoghue stable.

This spread of rides include mounts in all of the day’s feature races … the Avondale Guineas, the NZ$ 600 000 Nation Otaki Maori WFA Classic, the Avondale Cup and the NZ$ 1 million New Zealand Oaks.

“I’m not going for any particular horse on Saturday,” continued Thompson. "When interest was shown in me returning, along with my manager, we reached out to Mark Walker and Stephen Marsh first and when they also expressed interest, I was happy to make myself available and commit to the meeting … that was for no horse in particular, just for the day itself.

“I rode for both Stephen Marsh and the Walker / Bergerson combination on Karaka day, so it is good to link up with them again. Hopefully, I am on the right ones for them and the other trainers.

‘You never know where these opportunities can lead. It’s all about building relationships.

“I rode for Mark Walker whilst I was in Singapore so that created an association which, I’m sure, helped with us linking up again at Karaka and now again on Saturday.

‘It’s like anywhere, you know … when you are riding for leading trainers it gives you a lot of confidence, so I’m very lucky to be able to team up with these trainers. Obviously, be in overseas or on Australian shores, I can ride at a light weight which helps.

“Hopefully, luck is on our side again and we can have a bit of joy.”
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