First female jockey to win Darwin Cup returns from maternity leave

Jessie Philpot is a speck of shimmering yellow hunched over the neck of a dark brown gelding, galloping around the race track in Alice Springs.

"It's addictive," said the jockey of 15 years.

Ms Philpot has been racking up wins in the Northern Territory over the past few years and rode past the finish line to become the first female jockey to win the Darwin Cup in 2021.

Last year Ms Philpot marked a different type of win by becoming a mother and the first jockey in the Northern Territory to take maternity leave.

"I was actually the first female jockey in the NT to have a baby, so we had to work a little bit of stuff out," she said.

"Jockeys aren't allowed to ride once they're 12 weeks, so after that you go onto your maternity leave."

Thoroughbred Racing NT paid Ms Philpot's maternity leave and superannuation during her second and third trimesters, until she became eligible for the Commonwealth's Paid Parental Leave Scheme.

Chief executive Andrew O'Toole said jockeys had not been eligible to take maternity leave because they operated as sole traders or were self-employed, but about five years ago, the rules were changed.

Mr O'Toole said the new rules were "pretty standard" across the country, but the industry was not yet offering paternity leave.

Back in the saddle

Ms Philpot gave birth to her daughter Harper six months ago.

"She is an amazing little girl, lots of personality," Ms Philpot said.

Mr O'Toole said jockey riding was physically demanding work, but from four months after giving birth, Ms Philpot was already racing again — and winning.

"It's a tremendous feat for all our riders what they do," he said.

"A lot of women have had babies around Australia that are jockeys and most of them come back and come back to what they used to be," she said.

Female jockeys 'huge part of the industry'

Mr O'Toole said although male jockeys still slightly outnumbered female jockeys in the NT's racing industry, women were a "huge part of the industry" across Australia.

He said in previous years female jockeys faced beliefs they weren't strong or skilled enough to race horses, but those days were gone.

"Some of the top riders all over the world ... are female riders, so I think that stigma that was certainly in place years ago has passed," he said.

"The greater majority of trainers are not frightened to put female riders on their horses on race day or for track work, and their record speaks for themselves, their feats speak for themselves."

Paving the way for future jockeys

Mr O'Toole said Ms Philpot's experience would help half a dozen other female riders in the Northern Territory.

"I'm sure that seeing Jess was looked after, as she should be ... will give the others confidence that if they get to that stage of their life where they want to have a baby, there's nothing stopping them," he said.

Ms Philpot hoped her experience would lead the way for future jockeys to take maternity leave.

"It's set the way for someone else, because I'm sure there will be someone else who'll have a baby for sure," she said.

But in the meantime, she is keen to enjoy her sport.