What started as an unexpected way to get off his PlayStation as a teenager could lead to Ben Thompson’s first Group 1 win in Saturday’s Sydney Cup.
The blossoming Queensland rider grew up in Victoria as the son of greyhound racing trainers and didn’t ride a horse until he was 15.
As he tries to break into the Group 1 club when he rides Adelaide Cup winner Good Idea in the famous colours carried by champions like Saintly and So You Think on Saturday, Thompson reflected on how his riding journey started out of the blue.
His father Jason took him on a trip to see horse trainer mate Frankie Stockdale who put the young Thompson on a stable pony, starting his love affair with horses.