Bodey sets his sights on 500

CRANBOURNE track rider Adam Bodey is well respected as an astute judge of a horse’s work.
So he should be.
Bodey is the state’s premier amateur rider and is in training aiming for his ninth consecutive picnic riding championship when the season kicks off next month.
Not only that, but the 36-year old hoop has set himself an ambitious target of 500 winners as his career goal.
“I’d like to ride until I’m 40 and 500 winners would be nice,” he said.
“I went through the books and I think I’m on 402 at the moment so there’s a bit of work ahead to reach that goal.”
Given the picnic season is far shorter than the year-round professional season and there is only a maximum of six events contested at each meeting, Bodey’s task is a daunting one.
That is even more so given he is big for a jockey and has to diet heavily to reach his riding weight of around 62 kilograms each season.
“I’m on my diet now and I’ve dropped from 72 kilograms to 66 in seven weeks so it’s going pretty well again,” he said. “I love riding horses and the thrill of competing and winning still excites me.”
Bodey snared the sport’s equivalent of the best-and-fairest award, the prestigious Barry Ryan Medal, for the eighth time last season after a neck-and-neck battle with Mornington rider Kane Harris.
Bodey took out the 2007-08 riders title ahead of Harris by one win at the last meeting of the season at Alexandra.