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Warren Block's Daily Report - Friday, 19 June 2026
- Jockey-Trainer provincial stats - five states - Spotlight on Jeff Penza
- Matrix day-by-day results for Friday and Saturday racing
- Wizard Freebie - The Wizard Matrix Report
- Wizard Ratings, Raceday, Matrix, and Selectives Results
Jockey-Trainer provincial statistics - five states - Spotlight on Jeff Penza
Today, jockeys in each of the five mainland states who are currently prominent in their state 2025-2026 provincial premiership, with the stats covering the past two years. Note, however, that these stats cover the rider's results in all races, irrespective of location.
The Jockey/Trainer combinations that are included are based on the following criteria: The Jockey/Trainer combination is listed when a jockey's record shows at least 2 wins when riding the Wizard top-rater, or at least 3 wins when riding the race favourite, or 4 wins if the runner is in the $2.00 to $5.90 odds range, for that stable. Also included are the overall percentage stats for the jockey when riding a Wizard top rater or race favourite, for any stable.
To add to this weekly report, here is a Spotlight Profile of Jeff Penza (via ChatGPT, and other sources) which makes for some interesting reading.
Jeff Penza is a veteran New South Wales jockey who can boast an enduring association with numerous strong regional stables. He has ridden more than 2300 winners and remains a regular presence on the NSW provincial and country circuit.
Background and Early Life
Jeff grew up at Quakers Hill on the outskirts of Sydney, where his family always had horses and he developed a natural affinity for riding from a young age. Staying small in stature, he focused early on becoming a jockey and went straight to the stables to take up riding as soon as he finished school. He was first apprenticed to Sydney trainer Peter Balzen and rode his first winner in 1987. Over the years he has also been heavily involved with showjumpers on his property near Sydneys outskirts, using them as part of his fitness, balance, and confidence. youtube johntapp australianjumping.com.au
Family and Racing Connections
Jeff and his wife Michelle share an equestrian lifestyle, with both involved in thoroughbreds and other facets of the equine sport. The couples property setup reflects an ongoing crossover between racing and the broader equestrian world. johntapp
Riding Base and Main Circuits
Jeff is primarily based in New South Wales and is known for travelling extensively around the state, riding at country meetings and provincial tracks as well as in the metropolitan area.
Work Ethic and Seasonal Records
He has ridden more than 100 winners in a season and has regularly appeared in the top 20 riders across NSW, including a standout 2016-2017 season when he rode more than 130 winners in country NSW. Jeff has had multiple four-win race meetings and a remarkable five-win haul at Newcastle in April 2020. sportsbet.com australianjumping.com.au
Key Trainer Associations
Jeff has built strong relationships with a range of trainers, particularly in NSW's country and provincial ranks, and also rides for established metropolitan stables, especially on the provincial and country circuit. One notable partnership has been with Chris Waller.
Major Races and Important Wins
Jeff's breakthrough at group level came in 2015 when he won the Group 3 Hawkesbury Gold Cup aboard Sons Of John. Since then he has delivered other feature wins, including that on the Chris Wallertrained Summer Flame, who caused an upset 60/1 win in the 2025 Listed Denises Joy Stakes at Scone. However, the single most memorable day of his career came on September 17, 2021, at the Newcastle Gold Cup carnival. On this day Jeff dominated by riding a historic Group 3 treble. He first won on Madam Legend in the Tibbie Stakes for Les Bridge, then the Chris Waller-trained Great House in the Newcastle Gold Cup, and finally closed off the day by winning the Cameron Handicap aboard Kim Waugh's Ashman TTR AusNZ sportsbet.com
Legacy and Continuing Career
With a career spanning nearly four decades, Jeff remains a respected figure in Australian racing. He continues to ride extensively across NSW, maintaining a strong presence in both racing and equestrian sport.
Matrix day-by-day results for Friday and Saturday racing
The tables show the results for the past eight weeks for the day on which racing occurred. So, today being Friday, this Matrix DOW (Day of Week) report covers the past eight Friday and Saturday results. The day-after results are included so that they are available on race-eve, rather than only on race morning.
(The daily Matrix report aims to assist subscribers contain the number of bets to manageable proportions and improve the strike rate. The report is posted to our website between 10:30am and 10:45am each day with an update at 12 noon.)
Wizard Freebie - The Wizard Matrix Report
The Wizard publishes on this page one of its Wizard reports or special features, either completely or a part thereof. Today, a Wizard Matrix (First Four) Report for one meeting. The full report and all other reports for all meetings for today are available now for subscribers
The Wizard Matrix report aims to assist subscribers contain the number of bets to manageable proportions and improve the strike rate.
Click here for an explanation of the Wizard Matrix report.
Wizard Ratings, Raceday, Matrix, and Selectives results
We publish these full results daily so that subscribers can see the results of the Wizard's ratings options, and Report-content, and thereby formulate a selecting and betting strategy that suits them individually. The Wizard ratings should not be seen as "tips", rather as objective assessments that can be used to inform one's own judgement as to the relative chances of the runners in a race.
The full day-by-day results for Wizard (Wrat) top 4 rated runners, the Raceday Qualifier, and the Matrix (MaxR) 100 pointer, the MaxR top-two, the What-IF top-two Filtered, together with the Matrix W1+MaxR100 Selective qualifier, and the Matrix W1+*EO+MaxR100 Selective qualifier. Also included are the overall results for last week and the last four weeks. The 2024-2025 column shows the WRat results for the full racing season.
This results summary is colour coded so that it is easier for readers to track the relative performance of the Top Rated (blue) and Top-Two Rated (green) ratings options on a daily, and longer term, basis. The best overall qualifier (yellow) is highlighted. Also, the single runner options are grouped separately, as are the two-horse and multi-horse options results, again to make comparisons easier.
The following table shows this week's results of alternative options with respect to possible Matrix Selectives combinations, as well as weekly summaries. These combinations are accessible via the Wizard MATRIX report which is posted to our website between 10:30am and 10:45am each day.
(Key: The first of the two columns for each Selective combination shows number of qualifying races and the second column shows the strike rate. Headings: RWM is Raceday,Watch,Magic, RWM 2/3 means two or three qualifying, Rday is Raceday report qualifier , Magic is Magic report qualifier, R/M is Raceday and Magic, WR1 is Wrat 100, MR1 is MaxR 100.)
The following table shows where the winner of each race run yesterday was rated by WRat, WMod, WHcp, and WExpk and was the qualifier in the Wizard Raceday Report. (Note: The Wrat [W] winner results report on both the top rated and top-two rated winners.) The Raceday Report winners under the Top Rated column are from those races where there was only one Raceday qualifier, and under the Top 2 Rated on the rare occasions where there were two qualifiers in a race.
Header: WMHER = WRat (W), WMod (M), WHcp (H), WExpk (E), Raceday (R).
For a full explanation of the table click: How to read the Wizard Ratings Results