Owen Patrick Bosson (born 24 July 1980), known by his short name Opie Bosson, is a jockey in
Thoroughbred racing in New Zealand
The racing of Thoroughbred horses (or gallopers, as they are also known) is a popular gaming and spectator sport and industry in New Zealand.
History
Thoroughbred horse racing commenced soon after European settlement. The first totalisator machin ...
.
Riding career
Bosson started as an apprentice for Stephen Autridge, his godfather. He began his race-day riding career as a 15 year old on the 25 October 1995 with Comette at Dargaville and soon after had his first win on Fairlie Airlie at Gisborne.
In the 1997 season he was the McBeath Apprentice of the Year at the BMW New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Awards and was eighth on the New Zealand Premiership, behind
Lance O'Sullivan
Lance Anthony O'Sullivan (born 28 August 1963 in New Zealand) is a Thoroughbred horse trainer and former champion jockey in New Zealand.
Lance is the son of premiership winning horse trainer Dave O’Sullivan and the brother of Paul O'Sulliv ...
, with 75 wins from 703 starts.
[New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Annual 1997 (26th edition). Dillon, Mike, Editor. Mike Dillon's Racing Enterprises Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand.] The next apprentice was Mark Sweeney on 53 wins.
On 2 September 1998 Bosson rode the first Australian winner for
Chris Waller, Party Belle, in a 2100m maiden race at Wyong.
His first Group 1 victory was
Jezabeel
Jezabeel (2 November 1992 – 22 September 2015) was a top New Zealand thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1998 Melbourne Cup.
In April 1995, as a 2 year old, she won the listed 1600m Champagne Stakes at Ellerslie. Later that year she went to F ...
in the 1998
Auckland Cup
The Auckland Cup is an annual race held by the Auckland Racing Club (ARC). It is an Open Handicap for thoroughbred racehorses competed on the flat turf over 3200 metres (two miles) at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand.
The race was ...
, aged 17.
In March 2019 Bosson surpassed the record of
Lance O'Sullivan
Lance Anthony O'Sullivan (born 28 August 1963 in New Zealand) is a Thoroughbred horse trainer and former champion jockey in New Zealand.
Lance is the son of premiership winning horse trainer Dave O’Sullivan and the brother of Paul O'Sulliv ...
as the winner of the most New Zealand Group 1 races, with 63 when
Melody Belle won the
New Zealand Stakes
The New Zealand Stakes currently run as the Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes is a Group One thoroughbred horse race in New Zealand.
It is run at Ellerslie racecourse on the final day of the Auckland Cup Week Carnival in March for a stake of $200 ...
at Ellerslie.
As at the end of the 2021 season, Bosson has won:
* over 1,800 New Zealand races.
* 78 Group 1 races (10 in Australia).
Personal life
Opie Bosson is the son of Owen and Glenda Bosson. Owen was a prominent amateur jockey.
At the end of 2017, Bosson married
TAB Trackside Television presenter Emily Murphy.
Notable victories
The following are some of the major races Opie has won in New Zealand and Australia.
See also
*
Thoroughbred racing in New Zealand
The racing of Thoroughbred horses (or gallopers, as they are also known) is a popular gaming and spectator sport and industry in New Zealand.
History
Thoroughbred horse racing commenced soon after European settlement. The first totalisator machin ...
References
External links
Opie Bosson
1980 births
Living people
New Zealand jockeys
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