Popular Malaysian born apprentice Taz Salleh has won the 2008 Saddleworld Rising Stars Apprentice Series that concluded on Saturday at Belmont and Moora.

Salleh scored 42 points and in a tight finish pipped Kirryn Waldeck by just three points. Forty-five kilogram virtual newcomer to the ranks Yannick Valenti finished strongly with a Moora win finished third with 33 points. Salleh rode two winners for the series: Naval Sea at Geraldton on October 1 and Blowout at Northam on October 9. The Saddleworld Rising Stars Apprentice Series was another outstanding success and the closeness of the result is a reflection of the young riding talent in Western Australia.