Border jockey Danielle Scott saddles up for Canberra comeback

The Albury-based apprentice made her racing comeback last month, having spent the last four years starting a family with her partner and fellow jockey Blaike McDougall.

Scott will contest three races on her return to Canberra on Friday, with the 26-year-old to ride in her first Federal aboard the Garry Kirkup-trained Demonstrate.

She'll be looking to build a recent run of success which has seen her claim three wins in her last eight starts. But McDougall could spoil her chances from a few barriers across, with the leading jockey riding in all three of her races.

"It'll be nice if I can beat him in one race," she grins.

"He's happy for me when I win, but he usually does to be honest. We're always very encouraging of each other.

"I'm excited to be back in Canberra, I've always loved it because I rode my first winner here.

"The reason I decided to come to Canberra is for Kevin Hanley, I ride Magic Merv everyday. That was my incentive to come."

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Scott decided to pull on the silks again because she was already halfway there with her busy trackwork schedule in Albury.

She plans to race locally and get a few rides per fortnight for mostly Albury-based trainers, such as Kevin Hanley and her mother, Donna.

Hanley nominated Magic Merv in the Class 1 Handicap (1000 metres) in Canberra, with the five-year-old returning from a 48-week spell.

Scott rode the sprinter to victory in his only trial earlier this month, with the jockey also coming off a purple patch off success.

Her most recent win came on Sunday, riding Squaw Valley to victory in a benchmark 58 (900 metres) at Corowa. It followed back-to-back wins in Albury on April 4, which was just her second meet back in the saddle.

"I was a bit shocked because I thought I'd just come back, poke around and pick up a bit of extra money. I had no real goals or aspirations," Scott said.

"So to get three winners has been amazing, I'm really grateful. I started off a lot better than I thought I would."

But the major shock to her racing return has been the absence of crowds due to the coronavirus shutdown.

Racing is one of the only professional sports still running in Australia at the moment, albeit behind closed doors and with strict biosecurity measures in place.

So Scott looking forward to her daughters being able to watch her from the sidelines once it's safe to do so, just like they watch their dad.

"It was quite exciting when I had my first winner back but no one was there. We couldn't celebrate afterwards or have a dinner," Scott said.

"It was a bit of a buzzkill, but it is amazing we're still able to work and I'm thankful we still get an income.

"The girls would usually be there because the whole family is involved; my mum and nan are there while my pop is in the stables. So once this is all over, they'll come out to the day as well."