Travis Block was born in Cape Town, South Africa. He arrived in Britain in 2002 and rode around 130 winners, achieving a score of 37 in his best season in 2008.
He scored easily his most important success when making all the running on Hughie Morrison’s 16-1 shot Supaseus in the 2009 Cambridgeshire. Despite that high-profile win, his career failed to gather momentum.
He rode his last winner in Britain on Nazreef for Morrison in a one-mile handicap at Southwell on May 20, 2010. His final ride in Britain was also for Morrison, finishing eighth of 11 on Decana in a Windsor maiden on July 18, 2011.
While continuing to ride out most days for Morrison and also for Brian Meehan, race-riding opportunities dried up in Britain. In August 2012 Travis set off for a new life in Australia, having secured a job as a work rider with Darley at Agnes Banks, near Sydney.
However, he also took out a jockey’s licence and continues to ride in New South Wales. He had three wins from 28 rides in 2018, including 40-1 shot Yorkshire Rock at Bathurst in March and Holy Empress in a three-year-old maiden handicap at Goulburn in September.
