Glen Boss
A special place in Melbourne Cup history.
Profile
With three consecutive Melbourne Cup triumphs, Glen Boss is one of Australia’s most accomplished and successful jockeys.
His feats of piloting Makybe Diva to victory in the 2003, 2004 and 2005 Melbourne Cups not only guaranteed Boss a celebrated place in Australian turf history but rewarded his determination to return to the saddle after a serious race fall threatened his career.
Current work
Glenn is an extremely successful speaker: very articulate and with a profile that is recognisable to all Australians.
Previous experience
Injury: When Boss slipped from his mount in torrential rain on a racetrack in Macau in June 2002 the initial medical verdict pointed to an abrupt ending to his high-profile career.
Recovery: When he crashed to the turf, Boss suffered two breaks in his neck that could very easily have led to life in a wheelchair. But the prompt action of a crack medical team and one of the world’s top neurosurgeons enabled Boss to make a full recovery and after six months in a neck brace amazingly he was back riding trackwork. Not only that, but less than six months later, Boss rode Pentastic to fifth place in the 2002 Melbourne Cup.
Jockey: Although he has booted home 45 Group 1 winners since his debut as a senior jockey in 1990 in his home state of Queensland, the 2003, 2004 and 2005 Melbourne Cup victories aboard Makybe Diva stand out like a beacon.
Victory: Twelve months later, Boss lined up for the 3200 metres classic knowing that victory would ensure him a place in Australian turf history. Victory on the first Tuesday in November 2004, when the nation stopped for Australia’s most famous horse race, elevated Boss into a special category – the first jockey to win back-to-back Melbourne Cups.
Horses: Beaudesert-born Glen Boss has had a special relationship with horses since he was a toddler growing up on the family’s cattle property at Caboolture. As a youngster he won stacks of pony club awards and also did his share of breaking in horses.
Education: Leaving school at 15, he moved to Gympie to start his riding apprenticeship and after riding 60 winners in less than 10 months he moved on to the Gold Coast where success followed him.
Awards: Boss moved to Sydney in 1994 – and that is where his star-studded career really began to flourish. Wins in the Golden Slipper aboard Flying Spur and in the Chipping Norton Stakes riding Telesto in 2005 signalled that a special horseman had arrived on the scene.
Feedback
It was our pleasure to have Glen Boss as our guest speaker for the SONY BMG Executive Team 2005 Dinner.Glen was truly inspirational. He has an amazing drive and focus and has overcome major setbacks in his career to come back to win his 3rd Melbourne Cup on Makybe Diva proving that with determination and strong will you can achieve anything. Not only is Glen one of Australia’s most accomplished and successful jockey’s but he is also a devoted father and husband. Maintaining that balance in life and work is something that I highly value. Glen spoke from the heart, was honest and humble and received a great reaction from my team. His presentation was uplifting and enlightening. SONY BMG is one of the most important and influential companies in the music industry, and in my position I have worked with the leading figures in the music and entertainment industry. Glen was able to make connections to our industry with his story to inspire and motivate my team and we intend to use him again
We at TFSA would like to sincerely thank you for recommending that our conference be closed by Mr Glen Boss. His contribution to our conference was tremendous and went well beyond just his beautiful address to over 200 delegates. The Layback approach with his country chat mixed with a very interesting “Life in racing” made everyone hang on every word, as you know, I have seen many a good speaker in my time at conferences and I for one was not disappointed at all. On the contrary my expectations were already high from your recommendation and Mr Glen Boss exceeded that expectation. Glen made the audience feel and believe that they were actually riding on Makybe Diva to the finish. So again thank you and thank Glen for a great contribution to a very successful annual conference for my dealer group.
Glen was well received by the audience, told a great story about a comeback against the odds and gave an insight into a great racehorse. He was very open about his style and spent considerable time after the address having photos taken with members of the audience. The feedback post the event was very complimentary.
