IF you’re watching a race meeting from anywhere along the coast of Queensland, it’s a pretty fair bet that Chris Whiteley will be riding in it.

The jockeys’ well-worn saying, ‘Have saddle will travel’ definitely applies to the genial Gold Coast jockey and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Whiteley started riding in races 30 years ago and has been racking up winners ever since with his tally reaching 1,836.

“I’ve got a goal, to get to 2000,” said Whiteley, who also rode six winners overseas.

“Then I might kick back and see if I want to keep riding or pull up stumps.

“But that’s the goal - 2000. I think it’s pretty good so far. It’s a good number and I’m happy with what I’ve achieved in my career.”

In his early days he stuck mainly to south-east Queensland and he had a wonderful association with Gold Coast master trainer Alan Bailey, with the pair combining for 208 wins at an amazing 23.7 per cent strike rate.

Whiteley sure does give himself plenty of chances to ride winners because, especially in recent years, he has ridden on racetracks up and down the coast.

“Just, ‘Have saddle, will travel’. You’ve got to go these days,” he said.

“The prizemoney’s good; they pay back to 10th.. It all adds up.

“I’ve got a good association with a lot of trainers all up the coast of Queensland and I’ve been getting winners consistently for the last few years, so I’ll keep doing it.

“I reside in Hope Island on the Gold Coast and most of the time we can fly up and back in a day. Occasionally we might have to stay overnight but that’s rare now.

“But I just keep going to those provincial meetings – Rocky, Mackay, Townsville and Cairns and I ride work for Bryan Guy at the Gold Coast Tuesday and Saturday morning so I’m putting in the hard yards and I’m getting winners.”

He admitted it made for a busy life but he wouldn’t change it. He loves racing too much.

“I have my little chill-out days. I zone out and play golf; that’s my hobby. I think about races and what’s on tomorrow and that.

“I manage myself. I’ve done that since about 2008. I’m quite happy to do that to be honest.”

How much is it a business and how much is it about enjoyment?

“It’s probably a 50-50 call,” he said.

“I love what I’m doing and I love the mates I travel with. It’s the camaraderie. You make friends along the way and I’ve enjoyed that the last 20 years flying up and back to those provincial areas.

“Business? Obviously it’s my job and I love my job. I’m glad I chose this profession. I’ve been quite happy along the way and I’ve been successful and liking it.

“I’ll do it for a few more years. I’m 47 now and I said I’d ride into my 50s and I’ll see how it goes; see how the body is.”

Whiteley said that far from being a chore, being a frequently flying jockey was much simpler now for him and his travel buddies than when he started out.

“It’s definitely easier now and it’s a lot easier with your phone these days. You just book your flight on your phone rather than having to do it on the computer or you used to have to go to a travel agent to do it,” he said.

Even most of his rides are booked by text nowadays.

“It would have been very hard and taxing years ago,” he said.

“I’ve got plenty of frequent flyer points. I’ve got over 400,000 with Virgin and over 100,000 with Qantas.

“I’m saving all them up and I’ll take the family somewhere in the not too distant future.”

While his love of horses hasn’t changed over his career, Whiteley said his connection to horses and understanding of them had grown as he matured.

“I love the horse. They’re a kind-hearted animal,” he said.

“You just understand them a lot more as you get older - what they dislike and what they like and how they relax more underneath you.

“The horses come underneath you a lot more and understand you a lot more as well. They’re at peace and happy to go around.

“The ones that get highly strung in the enclosure, you know how to handle them. You get over their neck and canter off and they come back underneath you and just relax. You just get to know them.”

At Ipswich racetrack on Saturday, Whiteley’s horsemanship was on display as he rode King's Contract to a four-length win in the Kingsley Lawson Lawyers Maiden Handicap (1350m).

King's Contract ($3.40) stormed to victory over Tango Tino ($7) with favourite Roman Heir ($3.30) three quarters of a length further away in third.

“He just began fairly and settled worse that midfield and the instructions were to get going from around the 600 - to start improving into the race, which I did,” Whiteley said.

He said the Bryan and Daniel Guy-trained three-year-old relished the heavy track.

“I think he just handled it very well. It’s a genuine heavy nine. And I think he handled it better than anything in the race.

“Combined with the race experience he’s had, he was just too good for them.”