Apprentices rising to the challenge

Held across metropolitan and country tracks from August to a Flemington finale in July, the RMBL Investments Rising Star Series is an apprentice-only competition awarding points to the top five finishers in each leg, 12 down to 1. Run over eleven months, the format rewards consistency as much as raw talent, and is now an important part of apprentice development in the state.

Apprenticed to Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman, Pozman had already enjoyed a standout season before the series was decided – landing her first Flemington winner in January aboard Gallant Son, and picking up the VJA’s Outstanding Apprentice Jockey in Training award in February. She told Racing.com that winning the series was a goal she’d set with her manager, and that all three of her series wins came aboard Moody- and Coleman-trained horses – which was especially pleasing, given her ties to the stable.

Pozman joins a list of past winners that includes Luke and Matthew Cartwright, Beau Mertens, Ethan Brown, Campbell Rawiller, Celine Gaudray and, last year, her friend Tom Prebble.

Her boss, Peter Moody, agreed the result reflected hard work: “She's worked very hard,” he said.

2025/26 RMBL Investments Rising Stars Series Leaderboard

(as of July 9 2026)

Points were awarded for the top five placegetters in each leg of the series; First – 12 points, Second – 6, Third – 4, Fourth – 2, Fifth – 1

Why it matters

Beyond the prizemoney – a retail voucher for the winner, with smaller vouchers for placegetters – the series’ real value lies in the opportunities it opens up. Because the races are restricted to apprentices, trainers choose from that pool rather than a senior rider, giving young jockeys genuine rides they might not otherwise get. Pozman agrees, saying it’s valuable precisely because it gets apprentices riding at tracks and for trainers they perhaps wouldn’t otherwise cross paths with.

Learning from the best

Much of the credit for the depth of talent coming through belongs to Racing Victoria’s Apprentice Jockey Training Program, and the coaching team who run it – chief among them Darren Gauci, RV’s Apprentice Jockey Coach, who works alongside fellow coach Matthew Pumpa on technique, race craft and the pressures of the job. Gauci retired from the saddle in 2017 after more than three decades, 2,500 winners and 35 Group 1 victories, and as an apprentice set the Australian record of 506 wins – which he still holds.

“It’s the future for our talent coming through. It also gives the apprentices a little bit of camaraderie during the series. At times it gets very close, and it’s exciting. It also gives them the opportunity to ride at Flemington for the first time,” Gauci said.

“It’s very competitive here in Victoria, and rides aren’t going to be handed to them. When the series gives them a bigger opportunity and greater rides, that’s important. They also get to ride for different trainers, and that all helps their development.”

This year’s group has embraced the challenge, particularly through winter. “I think they’re doing a fantastic job. Winter gives them a chance to shine with their claim, because trainers use apprentices more on the softer tracks,” Gauci said.

Much of that development traces back to how differently apprentices are prepared before their first ride. “I wish I had the same help when I was an apprentice!” Gauci said.

“I think I had five jump-outs before I got my licence, and most apprentices now have probably had 150 before their first race ride. It’s a big difference, and it’s all about safety,” he said.

He’s watched Pozman’s rise closely and points to her work ethic as the difference this season. “She’s a very hard worker, and she’s done a good job. One thing we all noticed as a team was that she really wanted it. She’ll go the extra yard. A lot of them do, but Emily was fully committed,” Gauci said.

Backing racing's next chapter

The series carries the name of RMBL Investments, whose support is more than a straightforward sponsorship deal. RMBL’s chairman, Colin Madden, and his wife, Jannene, are part-owners of Black Caviar, the unbeaten mare who became one of Australian racing’s biggest stars – a syndicate the couple joined almost by accident, after a houseboat trip on the Murray with old friends turned into a shared racehorse purchase. That stake has translated into a long-running commitment to developing the sport’s next generation.

"Jannene and I have had more pleasure and fun through racing than we ever expected, and met so many great people along the way, so it was time to give back, and what better program than supporting the next generation of jockeys through the apprenticeship award program,” Madden said.

It’s a fitting pairing – a sponsor with first-hand experience of what it means to be part of a horse’s rise to the top, backing the riders working to make their own.

There’s a nice symmetry, too, in this year’s result: Pozman rode to the title apprenticed to Peter Moody, with mentoring from Luke Nolen – the very trainer-jockey combination behind Black Caviar.

With the title decided, the final legs of the series become a contest for the places behind Pozman, with East, Kennedy, Hollowood, Hammond and Houston all still in the mix for minor honours.