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JACKSON MURPHY'S CHINESE ADVENTURE

By Jackson Murphy with Graham Potter | Friday, November 1, 2019

Jackson Murphy gets his first taste of international racing when he rides in the Wuhan International Jockey Cup in China this weekend. Wuhan is the capital of China’s Hubei province and has a population of almost 11 million. It is located about 515 miles west of Shanghai and the visit will provide Murphy with invaluable experience as he seeks to broaden his professional horizons. HRO’s Graham Potter spoke to Jackson at the Ipswich meeting on Wednesday just prior to the rider jetting out for his adventure in China. This is the story of how the trip came about … as told by Jackson Murphy.

“I was a trackwork one day at the Gold Coast. As I was riding out on one of Toby Edmonds’ horses I rode past Lyle Plumb and Lyle approached me and said that there was a race in China in a few weeks and he asked me if I would be interested in going.

“Straight away I thought … yeah, for sure. How often do you get asked to do that!

“So, without knowing anything I said yes on the basis of trusting Lyle. I’ve known Lyle for a while now and I trust him … so I went along with it.

“From there things happened pretty quickly. The last two weeks have just been flat out getting everything organised … visas, paperwork, talking to different trainers over there as well as the stewards over there.

“Lyle has been helping me big time with all of that. In fact, he’s organised a lot of it from his end and he also put them onto me as well so they’ve been able to communicate with me when necessary.

“Obviously, it’s been rushed because there’s only been a pretty short turnaround time but it’s already been a good experience.

“I am looking forward to the race-day. It’s only one race obviously … what I have been told it is one international jockey from each country but we have two jockeys from Australia involved now because a jockey from another country pulled out. Beau (Appo) is also going.

"It’s going to be interesting with all of the different riding styles from the different countries and meeting those riders. It’s going to be great having a look at the track and seeing what the atmosphere is like and making new contacts.

"That’s the main reason I’m going over there … hopefully to open a few doors … … especially because Hong Kong plays a big part in China racing.

"I have no doubt it is going to be a good all-around experience and I’m sure it will help me improve my riding skills which I am always looking to do.

"The majority of the time when there is racing overseas somewhere I watch on television. I have been to Singapore and watched the racing there but I did not participate … so, as far as any international racing goes, I have been watching over the fence.

"That is as close as I’ve been to the action but now I get to look at things from the other side and ride in an international race and I want to work towards getting more opportunities internationally.

"That is something I want to do in the future.

"For the time being though I am just happy and grateful to be going over to China for one race, putting that on my resume and, if I do apply for somewhere like Singapore in the future, hopefully the China experience will count in my favour.

"I see it as another feather in my cap and hopefully I can build from there."

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Lyle Plumb, who was instrumental in creating this opportunity for Jackson Murphy, posted the following on facebook:

‘Good luck to Jackson Murphy this weekend. He is riding in the Wuhan International Jockey Cup, in China. Hopefully we get plenty of photos and feedback from Jackson. It is a great honour for any young rider to be invited to these international events, and I am sure he will be a great ambassador for the Australian Racing industry.

Thank you to Rui Severino, the Wuhan Racing Club, and the Yulong operation for making this possible. Ryan Plumb rode there at the same meeting 10 years ago.’

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