Sage Duric, the daughter of Caulfield Cup winner Vlad Duric, is one of 11 riders who will officially be inducted as apprentice jockeys on Monday night at Moonee Valley.
Duric is one of 11 members of the 2024 intake of Racing Victoria’s Apprentice Jockey Training Program.
The 21-year-old is looking to follow in the footsteps of not only her father, who counts Master O’Reilly’s Caulfield Cup win as one of five wins at the highest level, but also mother Storm, who is a past graduate of RV’s program.
“Both Mum and Dad went through Racing Victoria’s prestigious program, so to be chosen by RV and given the opportunity to do the same makes me feel extremely honoured and lucky that I get to live out my dream,” Duric said.
“Dad is obviously my father first but he’s also my best friend and to have somebody to share this passion with is like no other.
“Dad’s success speaks for itself in both Australia and Singapore, so I feel a little bit of pressure there, but I think pressure can be a good thing.”
Duric, who is apprenticed to Phillip Stokes, is one of 10 women among the inductees with 28-year-old Chris Pang, who will be indentured to Leon and Troy Corstens, the lone male.
Across the course of the four-year apprenticeship, the 11 riders will be guided by RV’s apprentice jockey coaches Darren Gauci and Alf Matthews and gain expertise in fields including equine welfare, performance analysis, personal wellbeing, nutrition, physiotherapy, media, finance and business management.
Members of this year’s intake are:
• Brittany Button (24yo, apprenticed to Gerald Egan)
• Nadia Daniels (18yo, Pat Carey)
• Sage Duric (21yo, Phillip Stokes)
• Olivia East (22yo, Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr)
• Stephanie Hateley (28yo, Anthony and Sam Freedman)
• Samantha Kennedy-Roessling (20yo, Matt Laurie)
• Ruby Lamont (21yo, Michael Kent)
• Eliza Lloyd (23yo, Luke Oliver)
• Chris Pang (28yo, Leon and Troy Corstens)
• Hayley Spitse (Ben, JD and Will Hayes)
• Zoe Waller (Julien Welsh)