Ace return for Kiwi Lawson-Carroll with Group 1 shot in Adelaide

Ace Lawson-Carroll’s dream comeback is continuing, with the South Auckland apprentice jockey set to cross the Tasman to ride Bona Sforza in the $1 million Gr.1 Australasian Oaks (2000m) at Morphettville on Saturday.

The 21-year-old hoop made his return to racing just a month ago after he suffered career threatening injuries in a race fall last July and he subsequently underwent several surgeries and months of rehabilitation.

“I broke my neck, I had a hip replacement and I also had surgery on my collarbone,” he said. “I lost a fair bit of feeling in my foot through not being able to use it much and I was slowly trying to get movement back into my legs.

“I did a lot of rehab with it to try and get it mobile, which was the biggest thing.”

He made a fairytale return when winning aboard Bona Sforza in the Listed NZB Insurance Stakes (1600m) at Riccarton earlier this month, which came exactly one year to the day after their triumph in the Listed Welcome Stakes (1200m).

Lawson-Carroll is pinching himself after he got the nod by trainer Samantha Finnegan to travel across the Tasman to partner with Bona Sforza for a third time, and he is hoping to repay her faith this weekend.

“I am very grateful and very excited,” he said. “It will open up some more doors for myself and it is a great opportunity to get over there and see what racing is like across the ditch.

“Hopefully I can venture out and meet some new connections, creating new relationships will be quite cool.”