KATELYN MALLYON
A fourth generation jockey and the granddaughter of racing royalty, Katelyn grew up with only one thing on her mind, becoming a successful jockey. Entrenched in the racing industry from such a young age, Katelyn , her brother Andrew, and cousin Jordan, received guidance from their grandfather Mick, a multiple Caulfield Cup winning jockey.
Competing in a male dominated sport has not come without its barriers and setbacks, although Katelyn has looked to her mother and other leading females in the industry for support. One such setback was a horrific race fall Katelyn endured at Flemington in May 2012 when her mount fell at the 200m mark resulting in her breaking her back and being placed in a week long induced coma. Prior to the fall, Katelyn had experienced a fine start to the season and despite not riding for the remaining 3 months of the season post her fall she still won the Victorian Apprentice title.
After utilizing the 2013 season to successfully recover from her injuries, Katelyn bounced back to form in 2014 by again winning the Victoria Apprentice title, becoming the first female jockey to do so.
Since the 2014 season, Katelyn went from strength to strength recording some great wins, including the 2016 Group 2 Rubiton Stakes on Heatherley, and the 2016 Group 2 Herbert Power on Assign, the same horse she rode in the 2016 Melbourne Cup. Katelyn also rode in the 2016 Caulfield Cup which proves just how prominent her push up the ranks has been in the Australian Racing Industry. Since the 2016 Spring Carnival, Katelyn has ridden many winners including her breakthrough Group 1 win aboard Silent Sedition in the 2017 William Reid Stakes, as well as going back to back in the 2017 Group 2 Rubiton Stakes aboard Super Cash, backing up her win a year earlier on Heatherley.
Away from the track, Katelyn had shown she was a natural media talent taking up various radio commitments on RSN Sport 927 as well as appearing on Off The Bit, televised on Racing.com. In 2017 Katelyn was also named the face of Racing Victoria's 'Festival of Racing'.
Media is a huge part of Katelyn's future career plans, and became her focus in 2018 when took part in Channel 7's coverage of 'The Championships' in Sydney along with featuring on Channel 9's 'Sports Sunday' throughout the winter. This propelled her into then being part of Channel 7's coverage of the Spring Carnival alongside Bruce McAvaney, Hamish McLachlan, and Jason Richardson. In addition to this Katelyn also became one of the faces for BetEasy, featuring in a number of their online channels and events.