South Australian jockey Caitlin Jones was almost a non-starter in this year's Saudi Cup, the richest horse race in the world, just like last year.
After her extraordinary win in 2022, when she was called to ride as a last-minute ring-in and stormed home to victory, Jones was looking forward to this year's race.
But a serious back injury in September almost scuppered her chances to compete in last weekend's two-day event at King Abdulaziz Racetrack, in the capital Riyadh.
With only weeks to go, and having previously suffered a significant spinal injury, Jones wasn't sure she'd be able to ride in the event, comprising 16 races worth a combined $35.5 million.
"Thankfully the outcome wasn't as bad as the first time, it didn't lead to surgery," Jones said.
"I was fortunate enough to find a very good physio and he was certainly the difference between me getting to Saudi Arabia and not getting there.
"We managed to accomplish a lot in a very short time."
But despite not being able to repeat last year's win and claim the trophy, Jones said she was content with placing seventh in the cup.
"I was really, really happy with the way I rode and I presented myself as good as I could," she said
Winning 'a little bit surreal'
Now back in Australia, Adelaide-based Jones marvels at the fact that she made it onto the track at all in 2022 and again this year.
She was travelling to Dubai with her trainer last February when she got the last-minute call-up and had to hot-foot it to Riyadh.
"A girl unfortunately couldn't make it and I was called up as a reserve and got to fill the spot," Jones said.
She never imagined she would win.
"I'd had no experience racing on dirt tracks … so it was certainly a different feeling for me, but the horse did all the work," she said.
"Obviously you try to manifest that you will win races. You go out there being positive on all your horses."
But, she said, realising that she had actually won one of the most prestigious races in the world, took a while to sink in.
"It's a little bit surreal when it happens on a stage as big as Saudi Arabia's," she said.
To claim the cup, Jones had to win the International Jockeys Challenge, which involved beating 13 other top riders from around the world in a four-race competition.
All bets are off in Saudi Arabia
Jones managed her seventh placing this year, despite only squeezing in one week of race riding before the event, as she was still recovering from her back injury.
She said it was always going to be hard knowing what to expect from her rivals on the track.
"It's not like here in Australia or most other racing countries," she said.
"There's no betting in Saudi Arabia so it's hard to know what horses you want to be getting behind or following.
"It's very much based on your own horse's form and just trying to race best to their racing patterns and give them the best opportunity.
"And you're up against a whole new set of riders from last year, from different parts of the world."
A world away from a little girl's dream
The racing stage of Saudi Arabia is about as far removed from Jones' small-town childhood in south-east South Australia as you can get.
For starters, there aren't any camels in Penola, on the Victorian border.
One of her favourite highlights from this year's event was when the World Horse Racing team took the international jockeys group out to experience the local environs and wildlife.
"We got to go out and ride camels and quad bikes out in the sand dunes of the desert," she said.
"So we actually experienced the real Saudi Arabian desert.”
That's another big difference. There's no desert in the lush Coonawarra wine country where Jones grew up.
"I was born and raised in Penola, [I'm a] Penola girl at heart," Jones said.
It was there that a three-year-old Jones confidently told her parents that she wanted to grow up to be a jockey.
It may have seemed like an improbable childish dream to some, but despite several setbacks, Jones' never gave up and her tenacity has taken her to hundreds of wins, both locally and overseas.
"It's nice to be able to come from a small town and represent anyone and everyone," she said.
