A ride down memory lane: Leith Innes

With our history spanning over 160 years, we thought it high time to ask a few (not so old!) friends of Ellerslie to recall their favourite memories of racing here at ‘The Big E’.

Leith pictured here at Ellerslie in the birdcage post race – his “favorite racetrack”

Today we chat to Leith Innes.

Says Leith on his favourite Ellerslie memory…

“I have so many great memories at Ellerslie, having rode 317 winners at HQ. It’s by far my favourite racetrack to ride on.

“There’s so many highs I can recall from the New Zealand Derby and the Auckland Cup to the Railway. I think I’ve actually won all of the major races at HQ which makes it really hard to choose one memory.

“However, winning the Karaka Million 3YO Classic in 2021 on Aegon was really special so I think that would have to be my favourite memory.

“His form and wins going into the race were super and as long as I rode him well, he was always going to be hard to beat. I gave him a 10/10 ride to beat Amarelinha who was the favourite for the race.

“I was actually very close to retiring after that ride!”

“I also have to add another special memory which was winning on Taroni in the Stella Artois 1100 on Boxing Day in 2019.

“It’s an emotional memory to look back on for sure and was amazing for the Lindsay family as Brendan’s sister had passed away a few days before.

“The smiles on the family’s faces were so special and to be a small part of it was really great.”

Leith with Taroni’s connections after the Stella Artois 1100 win