THE last 18 months have been one heck of a ride for apprentice jockey Mollie Fitzgerald.

Around this time last year, Fitzgerald rode her second feature winner – Macleay in the Moree Cup – and in subsequent months she’s added more big wins to the mantelpiece.

Fitzgerald, 22, is now apprenticed to Sydney powerhouse stable, Archibald Racing, and is a regular sight at provincial tracks.

“It was an awesome season, progressing to the provincials and making the move to Sydney with Archibald Racing, and I’m looking forward to smashing new goals this season,” Fitzgerald said.

And, true to her word, Fitzgerald started the 2025-2026 calendar with plenty of winners.

In the first two weeks of the new season, Fitzgerald has ridden seven winners, including doubles at Newcastle and Taree.

“It’s going really well; I couldn’t be happier,” Fitzgerald said.

The 2024 Moree Cup meeting rewrote local turf history when female jockeys rode every winner on the eight-race card, including a double to Fitzgerald.

“It was a really fun day – an awesome day,” she said.

“I won a Krambach Cup at Taree before Moree, but the Moree Cup is definitely one of my most memorable wins.”

Recent history suggests the ladies have a knack of winning Moree’s signature race.

Alex Stokes became the first female jockey to win the Moree Cup when the perfectly-named Winning Review saluted in 2013.

The following year, Sophie Young claimed the prize on Monashee Woods for Sue Grills and two years’ later, she was back in the winners’ stall on Brett Thompson’s Dark Mojo.

Brooke Stower has also claimed two Moree Cups – Upstart for Peter Sinclair in 2019 and Stirling Osland’s Point Counterpoint in 2022, when the washed-out Moree meeting was transferred to Tamworth.

Fitzgerald’s Moree Cup win last year on 66-1 outsider Macleay for Jane and Rob Clement was met with stony silence – well, almost.

Hugging the fence near the mounting year and punching the air wildly, was her old man, former gun jockey Malcolm Fitzgerald.

“There were big cheers from dad, and also Jane and Clemo. They were very happy. We were really confident Macleay would run well, and it was great going into the race with Jane and Clemo’s confidence on side,” Fitzgerald said.

“We got in really nicely with a light weight, too, and were able to save ground along the fence. It was a very emotional win, but a super win.”

In subsequent months, Fitzgerald has made pundits sit up and take notice.

She rode 87 winners last season, despite being sidelined for eight weeks through illness.

“I spent two months out of the saddle with appendicitis at the end of March,” Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald was also named leading apprentice at Wyong and Kembla Grange and midway through the season won the Racing NSW Rising Star Series for apprentice jockeys.

“I started last season with three goals: win the rising star series, win a provincial apprentice title and reach 100 winners,” Fitzgerald said.

“I managed 87 wins for the season and cannot be more grateful, and winning the Rising Star was super – I really wanted to do that.”

In her short career, Fitgerald has advanced to provincial and city tracks, and is now with leading trainers Annabel and Rob Archibald at Warwick Farm in Sydney.

“It’s an awesome and amazing stable to be with,” Fitzgerald said.

“When I made the transition to the provincial circuit, Annabel and Rob really got the ball rolling for me.

“I was coming towards the end of my country claim, with only a few winners left and was looking at options,” she said.

“I wasn’t sure whether I’d head north or south, but I really wanted to give Sydney a go and it all came about in a really cool way.

“Annabel reached out to my manager and, at the time, it just felt really right. I felt really good about it all, so made the move to Sydney and it’s been great,” she said.

Again, Fitzgerald has a few goals pencilled in for the current season.

“I want to be riding really consistently at the provincials, to keep progressing, and I’d love to achieve 100 winners for the season – that would be terrific,” she said.

“The Rising Star series is a great initiative, and to win that again would be super.

“I’d love to progress to city tracks, and that’s a bit of a timing thing I’ve got to work out.

“I did have two months off (with appendicitis) and that delayed everything a little bit. We’ll see how this season starts, and make some decisions around that,” she said.

In the meantime, Fitzgerald has sent the shout-out to her fellow female jockeys to hold the banner high at the Moree Cup meeting on August 31.

“It would be terrific for the ladies to ride the card again – that would be pretty cool,” Fitzgerald smiled.

“It’s an awesome race meeting, with a beautiful vibe and it would be fantastic for the girls to ride every winner in consecutive years.”

Moree Race Club has put together a new-look Moree Cup Carnival, with Agri Storage and Logistics locked in as Moree Cup sponsor for the next three years.

A charity ball, sponsored by Grays Online, on Friday, August 29 will raise funds for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service.

The ball will feature former NRL star Daniel Mortimer from Mortimers Wines at Orange as guest speaker, a four-course meal catered by Relish and live entertainment by Split Image.

The family race-day on Sunday, August 31, features Fashions on the Field sponsored by Beauty Matters Moree, Assef’s, Robin’s Nest and Campbell’s Fuel Service, plenty of kids’ activities and a trackside marquee for all race-goers.

The eight-race card, with a whopping $300,000 prize money, features the $55,000 Agri Storage and Logistics Moree Cup (1400m), $50,000 Moree Super Maiden (1400m) and $35,000 Moree Town Plate (950m).

Supporting races, each worth $35,000, include a 1200m country boosted class 1 handicap and 950m country boosted maiden handicap, with a 1300m BM-58 handicap, 950m class 3 handicap and 1600m class 1 and maiden plate each worth $30,000.

Meanwhile, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service Moree Volunteer Support Group will hold its annual general meeting in September and invites new members to go along and discover what volunteering for such a vital service is all about.

The local AGM and general meeting will be held at Moree Golf Club on Tuesday, September 9 at 5.30pm.

For more information, contact Libby Smith on 0447 056281.

Moree Race Club Cup Weekend and Fundraiser

When: August 29-30-31

Where: Moree racecourse

August 29: Grays Online Charity Ball at Moree racecourse, from 5.30pm

August 31: Moree Cup race meeting at Moree racecourse, from midday

Tickets for all events: Agri Storage and Logistics Moree Cup Weekend of Racing