Steven King launches into training role

Ex-jockey Steven King will join Steve Richards, trainer of G1 winner Rostova (above) as assistant.

Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Steven King is set to take the next step in his racing career by becoming assistant trainer to Steve Richards.

King, who won the 1991 Caulfield and Melbourne Cups on Let’s Elope, retired from race riding in 2017 and for the past 2-1/2 years has worked at Macedon Lodge for leviathan owner Lloyd Williams.

With paperwork before Racing Victoria, King says he is ready to take the next step with the view to one day joining Richards in a partnership then taking over as Richards winds down.

Richards has 12 horses in work at Flemington and with King on board hopes to build those numbers.

But the two are not interested in becoming too big, preferring a boutique stable where they can be hands-on.

King has always been interested in the training side of racing, right from when he started as an apprentice with John Meagher.

He said he had worked closely with a number of smaller trainers, taking horses from maiden to Group One success.

“Steve and I have had a long association going right back to the start of my career,” King said.

“We work well together and when I spoke to Steve and told him I was keen to get involved, he was all for it.

“I’m really excited with where it might go, a little boutique stable at Flemington.

“It’s something I’m looking forward to.”

Richards said the idea of working together had been some time in the making.

He said they had worked closely developing Rostova, a Group One winner.

Richards said he was working Rostova as a yearling and thought she was a filly of promise when he rang King to jump aboard.

“I said ‘Stevie, you better come down and jump on this, I think I might have something’,” Richards said.

“He jumped on it and said ‘I think you’re right’.

“She was a difficult horse, but working together we took her to become a Group One horse.

“Together we’ve been terrific and I think we can grow together.

“It’s not going to happen overnight.

“All that we need is a horse to give us a name and we’ll be up and away.”