Steve Hart sent me this nostalgic snap of Johnny Marshall, and trainer Pat Murray from the mid 1970’s.
John was a shy teenager when he arrived from Perth to be apprenticed to the genial Randwick trainer. Pat had a profound influence on Marshall’s development as a jockey, and gave the youngster many opportunities.
Pat Murray was an “old school” trainer, who placed great importance on the feeding of his horses. “He would even go to the trouble of cracking raw eggs into the evening feed of his racehorses”, recalled former journalist and commentator Rod Gallegos.
He was a trainer of tremendous patience, who excelled with stayers. He won 19 races with the popular Tails, including two AJC Metropolitan Handicaps, a Doomben Cup and a Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
He won the 1974 Stradbroke Hcp with Go Fun, and dozens of races with horses like Nourishing, Pirate Bird, Mother Courage, Mon Bijou, Pharmacy, and the English imports Abs, and Great Klaire.
Pat Murray’s talents as a trainer, were matched only by his skills as a raconteur, and in the kitchen. “He could cook anything and was the greatest host of all time”, said his long time friend Rod Gallegos. It was Rod’s wife Kay, who gave me the surprising news that Pat Murray has been gone since December 29th 1997.