Sam Weatherley will bid farewell to New Zealand racing, in the short term at least, after Saturday’s Ruakaka meeting.

The champion apprentice has taken up an invite to ride in Sydney for the next three months for champion trainer Chris Waller.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity and now that it’s confirmed I can’t wait to get to Sydney,” Weatherley told The Informant.

“Thanks to a lot of people like my boss Lance O’Sullivan and all the trainers who have put me on, I’ve achieved what I’ve wanted to here.”

In his first season of riding for O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott, Weatherley won the apprentices’ premiership with 67 winners and is currently on 62 for this season, 17 clear of Jasmine Fawcett.