Billy Owen has been in a purple patch of late and the Gundagai man now based in Canberra has been hitting his stride and putting his mounts in good positions.
The accomplished Jockey had a very good week or so, first past the post four times from 11 starts.
He said,“I’ve had a good week. Since Queanbeyan I’ve had four winners from 11 rides and a couple of seconds in there as well.
“My first winner for the week was at Queanbeyan. I only had two rides that day for a win and the other one only just got beaten in the last stride.
“And then Canberra, Nowra and Albury within the four days, I rode a winner at each place.
Billy was happy with all of his wins but pointed to one horse as having plenty of success with him aboard.
“To be honest. I thought I had good rides all weekend, a couple of them paid odds, but I thought I had good rides all weekend, but you leave the race disappointed plenty of times, so you have still got to have that luck.
“Probably Sunday’s winner, I’ve won three. The horse has had six starts now and won three and I’ve won all three on him, so he’s pretty progressive.
Weight is always an issue for Jockeys and the time honoured joke asked of them is what will you do when you retire? They often say ‘eat’.
Owen has found a sweet spot at 58 kilos and likes that weight when riding.
“It was good, actually. It was the first time I’d ridden 58 since I’d been back this time on Friday and it won, so that was a good reward, but nothing really different in prep.
“Through getting results and having your eye in, you just, same as anything, you have that confidence and it flows through to how you ride.
Billy is feeling relaxed out there and comfortable in his own skin and is booting them home.
“It just sort of flows for you and you’re not thinking too much, like, you’re not trying too hard and it’s just sort of working out.
The Country Championship qualifiers commence in the region this weekend with Wagga Saturday and Sapphire Coast Sunday. Billy is having some time off but could still pick up a ride in the future with a wild card event planned.
Billy thinks for Wagga, Canny Hell trained by Kym Davison, is a good horse and it is the joint top weight.
At Sapphire Coast he is a fan of My Last Hooray, trained by Frank Cleary.
More on Billy
In the tough, sun-baked world of New South Wales country racing, few stories shine brighter than that of Billy Owen. The 33-year-old Gundagai gun, with his trademark cheeky grin, Tiger tattoo, and unbreakable determination, has forged a career built on raw talent, relentless grit, and an unshakeable love for the saddle.
Owen stands tall as one of the state’s most respected and exciting jockeys — a quality rider whose journey is nothing short of inspirational.
Owen’s love affair with horses began early, swinging onto ponies at just three years old. He apprenticed under the respected Nick Olive and booted home his first winner aboard Chirurgo Dame at Albury more than 15 years ago.
His initial professional stint delivered 38 wins, but injuries — a fractured shoulder, collarbone and pelvis — and the constant battle with weight forced a heartbreaking pause in 2012-13. Many might have walked away, but not Billy. Instead, he channelled his passion into amateur and picnic racing, where he became a dominant force.
Riding with a staggering strike rate that peaked around 60 per cent in his final amateur seasons, Owen racked up nearly 100 picnic winners. He famously saluted with the first four winners on the card at the inaugural Cobar Picnic meeting and claimed a treble at Crookwell in one of his last amateur outings. He also added the Bong Bong Cup to his CV aboard Tradtri in 2014.
During those years he served as travelling foreman and trackwork rider for the brilliant Single Gaze — the Caulfield Cup runner-up — savouring the big-stage thrills while quietly organising his return to the professional ranks.
That return came in 2018 as a mature-aged apprentice, still tied to the Olive stable but now riding at a rock-solid 56kg. Owen wasted no time making his mark. His first professional winner back came on Foroz at Wagga in May 2018.
City success followed swiftly: a breakthrough win on Dawn Raid at Canterbury in January 2019, then his first Saturday metropolitan victory aboard Junglized at Randwick. By late 2019 he had added a TAB Highway win on Greenspan and was flying, with his career tally (including amateurs) already past 228.
Since reclaiming his full professional licence, Owen has gone from strength to strength. He now boasts more than 420 career professional wins from around 2,800 rides — a rock-solid 15 per cent strike rate and an enviable 40 per cent place rate that speaks volumes about his consistency and horsemanship. He has formed a powerful alliance with trainers like Nick Olive and, more recently, Joseph Jones Racing, while remaining a favourite son on his beloved home tracks around Gundagai, where his strike rate sits at a healthy 22 per cent.
The latest chapter in Owen’s fairytale came just weeks ago at the Sapphire Coast Turf Club. On February 1, 2026, he produced a masterful front-running ride in the $80,000 Bega Showcase Cup, piloting the Joseph Jones-trained Zouatica (carrying a hefty 62kg) to an all-the-way victory in the feature mile. Controlling the race from the front before surging clear from the 700m, Owen broke the hearts of his rivals and held on gamely to the line, qualifying the big gelding for the $3 million Big Dance later this year. It capped a superb two-day carnival that delivered multiple winners and showcased the 33-year-old at his brilliant best.
“He was the best horse in the race,” Owen said after the Bega triumph, “but he had to be ridden pretty well by the end of it. I let him roll, controlled things, then upped the tempo from the 700m to the 300m — that was the winning move. He was just good enough to hold on and never looked like getting beaten.”
Local fans know Owen as the pride of Gundagai — who never forgot his roots. In 2021 he thrilled the home crowd with a Gundagai Cup win on Maid Of Ore for Nick Olive. He has ridden trebles and doubles across the province, battled through weight battles with expert advice, and turned every setback into fuel. Even when he briefly contemplated heading north, he dug in, delivering his first professional treble and proving his class time and again.
At 33 and riding better than ever, Billy Owen is the complete package: a polished horseman with ice-cool judgment, an ability to find the front and make it stick, and the maturity that only comes from overcoming real adversity. Whether it’s a midweek country meeting or a feature like the Bega Cup, punters and trainers alike know that when Billy Owen is aboard, they’ve got a genuine chance.
South West Slopes racing fans are lucky to call him one of our own. Keep an eye on Billy Owen — this quality rider is far from finished.
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