Noonan's Inferno opportunity

He's already a member of the Group 1 club, but Jake Noonan is eager to add to his record in Australia's biggest races.

By his own admission, 'opportunities in Group 1s are pretty rare' for Noonan, but his win in the 2016 Robert Sangster Stakes aboard Precious Gem shows that he's capable of getting the job done when given the chance.

"You don't to finish your career with just one because it feels as if it's a bit of a fluke," Noonan said.

"My best hope of probably getting a Group 1 and another winner is finding the right horse, not necessarily the associated stable that it's with, because there's probably riders in those stables that are higher up the ladder than me that are going to get those opportunities.

"It's just about finding the right horses and associating with the good trainers that are loyal to me.

"I'm fortunate enough that I've got some good barns, obviously, Dad (Tony Noonan), the Feeks at Mornington, Alex Rae in Cranbourne are very good to me, David and Emma-Lee Browne at Pakenham have been fantastic to me.

"When you start to build an association and have a bit of luck on their horses, they seem to stick with you.

"It's just about finding the right horse coming through the grades."

Noonan has also received support from Mornington-based trainer Cliff Brown, who has booked him for the ride on former Singapore superstar The Inferno in Saturday's G1 William Reid Stakes at Moonee Valley.

"I'm very appreciative of Cliff, Glenn (Whittenbury) and the ownership group to offer me the opportunity," Noonan said.

"I'd obviously built an association with him last prep without having any wins, I went and galloped him Tuesday morning without even knowing that I was riding him. Cliff then offered me the ride and I was more than happy to take the opportunity with both hands."

Noonan rode The Inferno during the spring, where he finished fourth behind Imperatriz in both the Moir Stakes and the Manikato Stakes. Once again, it's Imperatriz who they'll have to beat at The Valley on Saturday.

"He showed that he was back to his best last spring," Noonan said.

"On fresh legs, he seems to run well and did that in top class at weight-for-age company. I'm happy enough with the way he's prepped up leading into his first-up run and hopefully, he can measure up to that form again.

"What I've noticed about him this time in is that he's actually held really good residual fitness, so he goes into the first-up run probably wanting the run to some degree, but he still feels off his work and his trials that he goes in good-enough shape." 

Noonan will also ride Chief Altony in the final race at The Valley on Saturday, as the Alex Rae-trained gelding makes his return to the races for 2024.

"Saturday is a stepping stone towards what winter prep he's got ahead of him," Noonan said.

"We've seen him at his best, he's going to be in Stakes company and measure up in that sort of grade, especially in winter and Heavy ground. Saturday is the start of a good prep, hopefully we can kick things off in a good-enough manner and see him run well."