Three years ago Wauchope based apprentice Jackson Murphy had never sat on a horse. At Port Macquarie last Thursday he booted home his fourth winning double in a career spanning less than a year.
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His latest double came on board Mosh Pit for Randwick trainer Pat Webster in the Collins Group Maiden (1512m) and on Mind Freak for his master, Grant Prosser. in the Arrowfield Benchmark 53 (1200m),
“Jackson is a great kid, a hard worker and someone who I think is going to achieve a lot as a rider. He is so enthusiastic, there is no stopping him.” said Prosser
Murphy, originally from the Central Coast, joined Prosser and his son Colt knowing nothing about riding.
“They sent me to riding school to get me started then up to Michael O’Neill’s property to muster cattle. It was two years of learning how to ride before I rode in my first race.” said Jackson.
That was at a non-TAB meeting at Wauchope and he made an immediate impact, booting home the first of those four doubles. Since then, his services have been in demand by trainers up and down the coast. Mosh Pit was saddled up by O’Neill, who trains a small team from his Long Flat property, and he gets to keep the four year old.
“He is going to stay up here and race in this area. He is a lovely big relaxed horse and I think he will get further. Mosh Pit only arrived a couple of hours before the race and that was the first time I had laid eyes on him but I liked what I saw,” O’Neill said.
Murphy took him up to share the lead mid race, shook off the pacemaker The Free World on the turn and went on to win by one and a half lengths. Murphy also had Mind Freak handier then when eighth at Kempsey at his previous start.
“He had him too far back at Kempsey and I told him to be closer to the lead today.”
Earlier the Colt Prosser trained bargain buy, Metre Easter (Belinda Hodder) made up for his dismal first up last three week ago with a tough win in the De Bortoli Wines Maiden (1200m). The three year old ran last behind Magic Arli in the $40,000 Port Macquarie maiden on November 10 but Prosser partly blames himself.
“I don’t think he was ready but he has gone ahead in leaps and bounds since then. I put blinkers on him after that run and his work in them was very good so I left them on. He is a big horse and still green and learning his trade so the blinkers did the trick.”
Hodder let him find his feet on the outside of the field, circled them all on the turn and went on to win by one and a quarter lengths. Former Victorian galloper Forever Alone only recently arrived at Neil Godbolt’s stable and made an immediate impact by winning the Schweppes Class One (1110m) at his first run for the trainer.