QUIET ACHIEVER JACE MCMURRAY WINS ANOTHER PREMIERSHIP WITH A MONTH TO SPARE

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, July 1, 2026

There is still a month to go before the curtain comes down on the 2025/26 racing season and that is when Jace McMurray will be officially crowned the Brisbane Apprentice Jockey Premiership winner.

McMurray’s 37.5 wins has him 15.5 wins clear of last year’s Apprentice Premiership winner Emily Lang, who completed her apprenticeship on June 24 and who therefore cannot add to her apprenticeship winning tally. Jasper Franklin who sits two winners behind Lang, is too far back to pose any threat to McMurrray.

McMurray has been very much the quiet achiever of the season. There has been little fanfare surrounding his rise up the ranks, just a solid run of quality rides which has propelled him into this premiership winning position, seemingly with the minimum of fuss.

No fanfare does not mean any lack of recognition though, with the demand for McMurray’s services being clearly illustrated by the fact that his number of rides (250) in metropolitan races this season is more than any other apprentice rider … this in spite of the fact that McMurray was absent for more than three months of the season, courtesy of a riding stints in Sydney and suspensions.

“The Premiership was my goal when I came back from Sydney in February, after a couple of months away,” confirmed McMurray,” but, although I know it was in the back of my mind in a way, I haven’t really been looking at it over the last couple of months.

‘It’s certainly not something that I’ve sort of gone out every ride and thought about … I just been consistently trying to ride winners … and trying to ride for the bigger trainers around Brisbane.

“I do want to ride for the best trainers in Queensland and get results for them.

“Michael Freedman is obviously a big part of my career now. He is obviously going very well in the metropolitan area and that’s been an advantage to me,” continued McMurray, “and I’ve picked up a few rides from Tony Gollan and the Archibald stables which is always a good thing.

Michael Freedman is the trainer who gave McMurray the opportunity of having two important character and riding expertise building riding stints interstate in New South Wale … as well as the invaluable mentorship that came with that relationship … an experience which has helped lift McMurray to where he is now after trainer Adam Campton had done such a good job with McMurray in the earlier, formative stage of his career.

The Brisbane Apprentice Jockey Premiership win is a natural progression for McMurray who won the Queensland Provincial Apprentice jockey’s Premiership last season … but he knows it will take just as much hard work to take the next step up the ladder.

“I know a lot of good jockeys have won the Metropolitan Apprentice Premiership and gone on to bigger and better things … so, hopefully, it can also have a positive impact on my future, but I know I have to keep working at it.

“I’ll take next season as it comes,” said McMurray “No big plans … but I’d really like to ride a stakes winner, so a Black Type winner will be my next goal.”

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