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Collett joins exclusive club
Joshua Smith, LOVERACING.NZ News Desk • August 24th, 2026 2:08 pm
Sam Collett winning her 1,000th race in New Zealand aboard Rippanall at Hawera on Sunday | Photo: Jane Davidson (Race Images)
Jockey Sam Collett joined an exclusive club on Sunday after she recorded her 1,000th domestic win in the saddle aboard Rippanall at Hawera, joining her father, Jim Collett, and mother, Trudy Thornton.
While Collett reached 1,000 wins a few years ago when riding in Australia, she said to reach the mark on home soil was a sentimental moment, particularly joining both of her parents, which is arguably a world first.
“It is nice to have it acknowledged here in New Zealand,” she said. “I rode my 1,000th winner at Rockhampton a couple of years ago now, and it is nice to join Mum and Dad to have done that domestically now too.
“When I get to another 1,000 that will be a fairly big achievement. I am not sure I will get there, but we will give it a try.”
It was also fitting for Collett to bring up the milestone in the silks of Waverley trainer Bill Thurlow, which she donned when recording her first Group One victory aboard Glory Days in the 2019 Auckland Cup (3200m).
“It was really cool (to do it in Bill Thurlow’s colours),” Collett said. “It took me a fair while to get that first Group One win. Bill stuck with me with Glory Days through the Avondale Cup (Gr.2, 2400m) and I obviously got the result for them, and it was a special moment for me that day. It was definitely fitting to get that 1,000th winner for them yesterday.”
Collett has experienced plenty of highs on the track, including 56 stakes wins in New Zealand, three of those at elite-level, but she said she gets just as much satisfaction out of riding maiden winners for friends and family.
“I enjoy my job and I like having success for Dad and people that are really close to me,” she said. “I was lucky enough to ride on Everest Day a couple of years ago, I have ridden in a Doncaster (Gr.1, 1600m) and won a few big races, but they all have their special meanings.”
Travel is one of Collett’s biggest passions, and she has been able to mix that with work, having ridden in several jurisdictions around the globe.
“I have been fortunate to ride in Japan and Saudi (Arabia), Macau, Inner Mongolia and Australia,” she said.
Australia is particularly meaningful for Collett, who spent nearly four years riding in Queensland before returning to New Zealand last year.
“I spent six weeks there to start with, with Robbie Patterson and his two horses, Coventina Bay and Puntura, and that led to me moving there,” she said.
“I wasn’t really sure how long I would stay there but it ended up being just short of four years, which was fantastic. I had a lot of success there and met some really good people. It is one of those places that if I went back, it would be just like going home. It was good, but it is always nice to come home.”
Now based in Auckland, Collett said she misses living in a more rural setting, but is enjoying living with her sister, Jess, and the convenience a big city provides.
“My sister and I bought a place together last year,” Collett said. “I loved living in rural Waikato, where I had a property before I went to Brisbane, but it is convenient living in Auckland with Jess, it means I can solely focus on riding.”
Collett made an instant impact on her return to her homeland, recording 93 wins last season, her equal second-best tally in New Zealand, while her stakes earnings of $3.75 million were $1.2 million higher than her previous best.
Her success on the track resulted in her finishing second on the National Jockey’s Premiership, behind Craig Grylls.
“Last season was great,” Collett said. “I was grateful for the support I got straight away. It’s nice to feel like you are wanted. It is just trying to keep consistent and get as many winners as I can and enjoying it for as long as I can.”
