VIDEO: Life Lessons From Horses With Jockey Sahin Civaci originally appeared on Paulick Report.

Horses have plenty to teach us if we’re willing to listen, and jockey Sahin Civaci has gleaned plenty from his life in the saddle.

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Civaci moved with his parents to Turkey at age 10, and he connected with horses as a teenager through a course sponsored by the Turkish Jockey Club. He took his first North American mounts at Vancouver-area Hastings Racecourse in 2014, and his time on Canada’s West Coast was highlighted by a victory in the Grade 3 BC Premier’s Handicap aboard Calgary Caper.

Civaci moved his tack to Woodbine in 2019, and he has compiled 13 graded stakes races, including Grade 2 wins last year in the Eclipse Stakes aboard Palazzi and the King Edward Stakes aboard Filo di Arianna. He finished second in last year’s King’s Plate aboard My Boy Prince, and third in the Prince of Wales Stakes aboard Bedard.

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During the offseason at Woodbine, Civaci previously spent the winters at Turf Paradise, but he tested the ranks at Aqueduct for the first time this past season, where he was a top-10 jockey by wins during the winter meet, highlighted by a victory in the Busanda Stakes aboard Running Away.

Civaci shared a key lesson he’s learned from his life with horses in an exclusive video Q&A that’s available on the Paulick Report Insider Patreon.

Among the questions answered in this video are:

  • What is Civaci’s favorite restaurant in Toronto?

  • When was Civaci proudest of a horse?

  • How does Civaci prepare when he knows a horse is prone to laziness or distraction during a race?

We’ve had recent interviews with notable Woodbine personalities including jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson, trainer Roger Attfield, and announcer Robert Geller. Subscribers can also find past Q&A videos with subjects including trainer Gary Contessa, jockeys Frankie Dettori and John Velazquez, and on-air personality Maggie Wolfendale, and they can submit questions when we book future interviews.

Don’t miss a single video, or a chance to ask questions, by becoming a Paulick Report Insider here.

This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Jul 3, 2025, where it first appeared.