3 minute read
When Callan Murray matter-of-factly said he used to clock up around 200 rides a month as an apprentice jockey in South Africa, jaws dropped all around the Kranji apprentice jockey’s classroom.
The South African whizz kid gave a talk to 11 Kranji apprentice jockeys on Wednesday morning, sharing the experiences – good and bad, mostly good - he went through in the last six years to reach the top.
While two-time Singapore champion jockey Wong Chin Chuen may command an average book of 40-50 rides a month, the norm would be a lot less for the other rookies, some as low as three to four.
That was just one of the many stark contrasts between Murray’s time as an apprentice and the local boys, but at no time was the affable 22-year-old being a showboat.
The winner of over 370 races, including a handful at Group level - in both South Africa and Hong Kong - that propelled him to instant superstardom, is not 100% bombproof.
Murray also hit a flat spot, more of a slump actually – at his second and most recent stint in Hong Kong before switching to Kranji this year.
At his first visit at the end of the 2016-2017 season, he took the Asian racing mecca by storm, landing the Group 3 Sha Tin Vase with 89-1 Lucky Year and the Group 3 Premier Plate with another longshot, Horse Of Fortune, runner-up to Southern Legend in the Invitational Group 1 Kranji Mile last year.
At the second visit? Two winners in six months of riding since August 2018.
Suddenly, that sense of despair and frustration could resonate with the local boys gathered around him at that workshop organised by Singapore Turf Club riding master Damien Kinninmont. Murray’s upfront take on those dry spells was delivered with deep empathy for that one common plight felt by many apprentice jockeys in Singapore – scant support and that Groundhog Day feeling of getting on top of no-hopers every week.
“I was fortunate enough to have a lot of opportunities as a young apprentice. I was always lucky,” said Murray.
“But for the first time, I had a dry spell in Hong Kong and it hit me really hard. I didn’t know how to deal with it. I hate having to beg for rides.
“Back home, I did ride for some tough trainers like Mike de Kock, who was very hard on me, but he was fond of me and put me on a lot of good horses whereas here there are so few horses for so many jockeys.
“I remember when I first went to Hong Kong, I was 21 and full of enthusiasm, but for them, it was more like ‘who the heck are you?
“I just had to learn and create relationships. That second spell in Hong Kong was a wake-up call but it also made me keep confidence in my ability.”
The boys nodded as they listened to a more familiar tale of woe. Whether they take away something from those words is up to them as going through the apprentice jockey systems in South Africa and Singapore is a tale of two cities.
But the knowledge that it can happen to even the best was somehow comforting, even big blues in racing.
“I made a mistake on Safeer last Sunday. We were badly held up in the straight, I went for a run when there was none, the horse got checked and we lost the race,” said a contrite Murray who had no qualms about admitting he stuffed one up.
“But it can happen to anyone. You just have to learn from your mistakes, and move on.
“Things change quickly in racing. One minute you’re a star, then you’re gone, look at Smanga Khumalo, who would have thought two years ago he would get only two rides a meeting now?
“You just have to keep believing in your ability, keep working hard and hopefully things will turn around.”
Murray said there was no better recipe for success than dint of hard work, and that is something that was drilled into his head from his early formative years at the famous South African Jockey Academy (SAJA).
“Unlike Australia or even here, in South Africa, you are not indentured to a trainer. You ride for the SAJA, you don’t have a single boss,” he said.
“Every morning from 5am to 10am you ride around 20-25 horses. You run from trainer to trainer, around six or seven, riding around three to four for each.
“It’s quite painful running from ring to ring, but trainers appreciate hard work, and it does help when you don’t put all your eggs in one basket. As a result, I used to have around 200 rides a month when I left Durban for Johannesburg.
“I rode six days a week in South Africa, starting with Kimberley on Monday all the way to Johannesburg on Saturday and on Sunday, I would ride in Zimbabwe!”
From the different tracks littering Southern Africa to Kranji via Sha Tin and Happy Valley, Murray has come a long way, but recognised he was nowhere near the finished article, even with the chasm between his wealth of experience and those of the 11 lads suspended to his lips throughout the two-hour clinic.
“Wherever you go, you have to follow the system. Mr Terry Bailey is a very strict Chief Steward and will come down on us for any lapse,” said Murray.
“You guys must remember to ride safe, like for example when you want to cross, don’t rush, just let your horse stride along until he’s two lengths clear and then only you can safely cross.
“I’ve been lucky I’ve travelled a lot and I’ve learned a lot. Wherever I go I always try to learn from the best like Anton Marcus, Felix Coetzee, Piere Strydom or the likes of Joao Moreira and Zac Purton in Hong Kong.
“It can be pretty tense in the jockeys’ room in Hong Kong. Everybody is so quiet and focused, but it’s been a great experience all the same.”
Murray has thus far booted home only one winner at Kranji – longshot Ganassi – on March 3, but as his book of rides improves, he is hoping to pad up on his score at a place he would like to call home.
“I’m enjoying my time in Singapore. Things are starting to come together,” said Murray who has no intention of returning to South Africa for the time being.
“I have really enjoyed giving a bit of my time to the local apprentices today. It’s the least I can do to help them in my own way.”