The racing industry revolves around people who are prepared to go the extra yards. In the case of trainers, attention to the smallest detail can make the difference between winning and losing. In the case of jockeys, it’s a fact of life that race day rewards are generated by regular attendance at track work.
Following is one example of the kind of dedication required for a busy bush jockey to stay afloat. Rachael Murray lives on the NSW Central Coast and is a regular contributor to track work sessions at the thriving little Wyong training precinct. She’s there most mornings riding work for trainers Les Tilley, Jeff Englebrecht and Tracey Bartley.
None of those trainers would have uttered a word of complaint had Rachael been absent from trackwork on Monday January 27th. They knew she had two rides at the Grafton meeting and a punishing six hour drive to get there.
Tracey Bartley had planned important gallops for two of his horses and would have been happy to find a substitute rider. He was pleasantly surprised when Rachael turned up at the usual time to ride both horses.
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Rachael coaxes Celabitofkandi to a narrow win at Tamworth - a double for the day.
Fortunately her Grafton rides were in later races. The first of them Phil’s Dream ran fourth, the second Plonka finished second. Usually she makes the return trip on the same day, but elected to stay the night when the effects of a huge week started to take their toll.
Rachael had ridden at Wyong the previous day, Newcastle the day before that and Port Macquarie three days earlier. She returned from Grafton to honour commitments at Scone last Thursday and Taree on Friday. She would have been at Newcastle on Saturday but was spared the trouble when heatwave conditions forced the abandonment of the meeting.
This girl has been going at a frantic pace for most of her eleven year career. In the 2016/2017 season her untiring efforts brought her a history making achievement when she became the first NSW female jockey to top the century of winners.
In notching a remarkable 118 winners on NSW tracks she finished in fourth spot on the state premiership behind Jeff Penza, Greg Ryan and Brenton Avdulla. She complimented her winner tally with 96.5 seconds and 74 thirds. To achieve this milestone she drove 120,000 kms to racecourses all over the state - usually travelling alone.
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Tricky finish! Petrossian (outside) wins at Tamworth to give Rachael an historic one hundred wins for the 2016/17 season.
Rachael was reared on a 1215 hectare property called “Hillcrest” at Elsmore near Inverell (NSW). Her parents Robert and Rosemarie have farmed the property for many years running cattle and sheep and cultivating barley, sorghum and lucerne. “I’ve been home many times in periods of drought when my parents have been very low in spirit”, says Rachael. “Like so many Australian farmers they battle through and then do it all over again”.
The thirty year old jockey has a brother Ross and a sister Sandra, neither of whom have the slightest interest in horses. Rachael on the other hand craved her own pony from an early age. “Because my Dad was always so busy I decided to put my request in writing”, she recalls. “I scribbled him a note explaining what I could achieve with a pony and handed it to him before he went to work one morning. How could any Dad not respond to a letter like that”.
Robert Murray, like many Dads before him, took the bait. Before long a stunning little grey pony mare called Susie arrived on the property and a future was sealed. Young Rachael Murray soon became a headliner at the local pony club, participating in every event on the programme. She preferred the faster pursuits - the faster the better.
When Rachael outgrew Susie, she was blessed to find an amazing replacement. She was wildly excited when a chestnut quarter horse gelding with a white blaze arrived on the farm. His name was Levi and his talents under saddle failed to match his flashy looks. “He knew absolutely nothing”, recalled his new boss. “I had to start from scratch schooling him in all of the pony club and horse show disciplines”, recalled Rachael. He took a long time but finished up a champion pony. There was nothing he couldn’t do in the end”.
No horse crazy kid can pursue his or her dream without the understanding and support of at least one parent. “My remarkable mother Rosemarie went beyond the call of duty”, says Rachael. “She postponed other things in order to cart me and my horses to pony clubs and horse shows for years. She was uncomplaining and long suffering. I’ll never forget her devotion”.
In mid-teens Rachael put her obsession with horses aside to enrol for a Bachelor Of Agricultural Sciences course at the University of New England.
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Rachael is now in her eleventh year of race riding and getting close to 500 wins.
She gained her Degree majoring in Animal Husbandry and may have gone straight into the workplace had it not been for a suggestion offered by her fellow student Tracy O’Hara.
Tracy, sister of prominent Sydney jockey Kathy O’Hara was mid way through her apprenticeship in Armidale and convinced Rachael that she should at least give it a try. The budding jockey didn’t need much prompting and before long had gained an indentureship to Armidale trainer Frank Tanner.
It’s not widely known that Rachael Murray actually rode a race winner before she began her official apprenticeship. She briefly held an amateur riding licence and won a Class B race on a gelding called Trading Results at the Scone picnics in October 2009.
She spent only six months with Frank Tanner before looking a little further afield. “Frank had only three or four horses in work and realised he couldn’t give me the experience I needed”, recalled Rachael. “When an opportunity came up in the Greg Bennett stable at Scone, he was happy for me to have my papers transferred”.
Bennett had a strong team in work at the time and was able to provide plenty of opportunities for his new apprentice. “I rode some really nice horses in my time with the Bennett stable, but Clickety Snip was my favourite”, recalled Rachael. “I won four straight on him at one stage, a huge thrill at that stage of my career”.
It was Taree trainer Bindi Cheers who provided Rachael’s first winning ride.
“Thanks to Bindi I opened my winning account on 30/04/2010 on a horse called Fusaichi Warrior in a BM 65 over 1900m at Armidale”, recalls the jockey. “It was the former New Zealander’s only win in Australia, so I got on him on the right day”.
Rachael was to spend the final six months of her apprenticeship with Michael Costa at Warwick Farm. “I had a great time at the Farm and Michael was very good to me”, she says.
During this period she had several race rides for former multiple Group 1 winning jockey Mark De Montfort who took an interest in her progress as a race rider. “Mark was a wonderful tutor. He would compliment me on a good ride and quickly pick me up on a bad one”, says Rachael. “To this day he will send me a congratulatory text or point out mistakes that I’ve made in a race”.
Mark has always admired Rachael’s work ethic and the way she approaches every ride at every meeting. “She has this amazing mindset to finish as close as she possibly can whether the horse is $1.60 or $100.00”, says De Montfort. “She can be as aggressive as any jockey but patient at the same time. She has great composure and a fierce will to win”.
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Mark and Rachael combined to win at Cessnock with White Achilles.
Fusaichi Warrior was the first of 485 winners for Rachael on a vast array of NSW race tracks. She makes no apology for declaring the Scone track her all time favourite. “Beautiful surface, roomy stretches and very fair”, is Rachael’s summation.
She has special affection for several horses who’ve helped her career through eleven years of race riding. She has never forgotten the thrill of winning the Cessnock Jungle Juice Cup on Profiler last year. “He was nine years old at the time and I fluked the ride when Darryl McLellan called in sick”, says Rachael.
The Paul Perry trained Petrossian has a special place in her heart. “I won four races on him including the Tamworth Winter Dash which gave me 100 wins for the 2016/2017 season”, said the jockey.
The Jane Clement trained Chrysolaus is one of her all-time favourites. She won the 2016 Tamworth Cup on the gelding, and a Country Championship Wild Card at Muswellbrook which propelled him into the Final at Randwick. Chrysolaus never got on the track from a wide gate, finishing 6th, only 4.4 lengths from the winner Clearly Innocent.
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Chrysolaus is one of Rachael's favourites. She gets him home here in The Country Championship Wild Card at Muswellbrook 27/03/2016.
The Getaway gave her a few high points including a good second in the Wyong Cup. Sensacova, Victory Vibes, Youthful King, Mr Spin and The Crimson Idol have all helped to keep her in the winner’s circle.
Her Randwick TAB Highway win on Mr Spin in 2017 had special significance. “He was not only Mick O’Neill’s first runner at Randwick, but his very first starter as a trainer”, recalled Rachael. “He had previously raced horses trained by other people, but decided to have a crack himself when his regular trainer Peter Roach retired. It was a very wet day, I got an amazing inside run and Mr Spin gave us a day to remember”.
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - A wet day at Randwick 25/02/2017. Rachael wins the TAB Highway on Mr Spin.
Rachael has a good opinion of the Jeff Englebrecht trained The Crimson Idol, who’s close to resuming from a spell. She has ridden the filly in all nine starts to date, resulting in three wins - one at Taree and two on the Scone track.
The jockey speaks well of Moree Dreaming, another of her regular country rides. Rachael has won four races on the gelding for trainer Peter Sinclair, and is confident there are more to come. The lightly raced four year old is currently in the paddock.
Rachael rode one of her best races to win on the promising Hellenism at Coffs Harbour on December 30th. The four year old mare walked out of the gates and tossed her head several times when eased off heels early. Murray didn’t panic when near last on the corner, electing to search for openings. Hellenism burst through a gap near the inside before exploding away to win easily.
The female jockey ranks have increased dramatically all around Australia in recent years. It’s possible the heaviest concentration is centred on the north and north western region of NSW. “I rarely attend a meeting when I’m not one of twelve or more girls in the female dressing room”, says Rachael. “On odd occasions I have to change in the corridor outside if I’m in later races”.
Rachael says tremendous camaraderie exists between the female jockeys. “We understand how far we’ve come in a short time and we never forget how hard it was to get to where we are today”, says the thirty year old.
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - One of Rachael's favourites - The Terry Vidler trained Victory Vibes wins at Muswellbrook 04/08/2019.
It’s a revelation to watch the thoroughly professional jockey ride in races on all types of horses on many and varied tracks. She never looks flustered. She can be in the tightest of situations, but just calmly waits for an opportunity. If and when that opportunity arises, she’s invariably ready to pounce.
Rachael’s the first to admit her weight is a massive asset. “I walk around at 52kgs most days allowing me to eat regular meals”, she says. “Not big meals but regular ones. I’m very lucky”.
Here is one contented bush jockey. She has the respect of trainers everywhere and the uncanny knack of being able to cope with the endless travelling. “It can wear you down from time to time, but one solitary winner can put you back on a high pretty quickly”, she says.
The thought of an early retirement is the furthest thing from Rachael Murray’s mind at the moment. When that day finally arrives she’ll go searching for that precious diploma she tucked away in a drawer when Tracy O’Hara talked her into becoming a jockey over eleven years ago.
That degree in animal husbandry will prove invaluable when life after racing begins. She might go back to “Hillcrest” at Elsmore. She might settle on a little farm of her own.
Wherever she chooses to settle down, you can bet there’ll be a horse or two in the paddock and a saddle and bridle in the tack room
8 Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Rachael's work ethic and talents have made her a favourite with owners and trainers around the state.
(Banner image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Rachael wins on Lord Magnussen at Tamworth 23/01/2020.)