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Cleo Patra- SIMMY winning jockey from The Land Down Under
Original article written by Ashley Hunt posted 2 years 2 weeks agoQ: How did you come about finding the SIM?
A: I joined in June 2007 so I don't actually remember how I found it! I did play, build and admin a lot of different horse sims from about the age of 10. Nowadays the SIM is the only one left standing.
Q: Were you surprised when you found out that you had won Hall of Fame Trainer?
A: I was in against a tough group and I wasn't expecting anything so it was a nice surprise to be voted in.
Q: Which division do you prefer?
A: I love the turf routers. There are so many different pathways to success, and the rate of progression is more staggered than the dirt routers. You can have one pop out of the ground as a 4yo, where in the dirt routers there's always that pressure to get them to the big 3yo races.
Q:What is your favorite memory from the SIM?
A: I have SO many of them! Being awake at god-knows-what-hour to hear In Pursuit win my first SC race was great. Conquerer winning the Derby. Capricious winning the Oaks. Obsidian Fury and Joseph winning the Arc.
Q: Are there any two that you wish you could have raced against each other?
A: Actually I wish I could run all of Metaphysical's boys against each other, maybe with Nighteyes thrown in.
Q: Best tip for someone just starting out in the SIM?
A: Don't be afraid to reach out for help. I've been playing for nearly a decade and a half and still don't know what I'm doing half the time. The game is immensely complex and ways of playing are as many and varied as the players themselves. There are so many good people who will help you out.
Many of you may know that Cleo is a jockey in Australia, so I thought that it would be fun to ask her some questions about her racing experience.
Q: Which division do you prefer to ride?
A: Mostly what I actually ride is turf, sand and sometimes dirt (although not the same kind of dirt as the USA) and mostly 4 furlongs up to a mile. But my favourite races are 9-10 furlongs sitting back somewhere midfield and riding a tactical race. However, I tend to get put on front running types in sprint races because a lot of my success has been with that type of horse.
Q: Favorite horse you've ridden so far?
A: It would have to be Al's Briefs. He kept racing until he was a 10yo, had 80 starts and won 20 of them. Together he and I won 8. I could always tell when he was going to win because he'd be absolutely full of cheek on the way to the gates. If he was there to win that day, it didn't matter what was thrown at him. One day he nose dived out of the gates, gave them a 10 length head start (which isn't a small amount of give over 6 furlongs) and he still rounded them up and won easy.
Q: Favorite memory of being at the track?
A: The final step before we get given our license to ride in races is to do our "silk trials". That means we ride in a barrier trial in full silks and in our racing saddle and all race day gear. The day I rode my silk trials was the first time I wore my Dad's colours. I had a grin on my face a mile wide all morning.
My strongest memory was being in the gates in my very first race and looking up the track. If I'd been a puppy, my tail would have been wagging so hard with excitement that I'd have fallen off the horse. I felt like a kid who'd eaten 3 bags of red lollies and an energy drink for good measure.
Q: What horse would you love the chance to ride?
A: Winx. Duh ;p