A JOCKEY’S JOURNEY WITH A ROCKHAMPTON TREASURE. THE MASTER JAMIE / BUBBA TILLEY STORY

By Graham Potter | Sunday, January 7, 2024

THE SUNDAY STORY - JANUARY 7

This might seem like a little bit of an exaggeration ... but Master Jamie’s third place in the King Of The Mountain (KOTM) at Toowoomba on January 1 could be celebrated as a win as the result took the Graeme Green trained gelding’s prize-money earnings through the $1 million barrier ... putting him in an exclusive club as the only lifelong Rockhampton based horse to have achieved that distinction.

That’s quite a return on his $10 000 purchase price for Green and co-owners Ron and Bev White.

"It was a huge run ... to run Rothfire to half-a-length,” said jockey Bubba Tilley. “He was there all of the time. He was always right in it. He is just such a gutsy horse. Who knows what might have happened if the race was eighty metres further.

“The horse is happy and sound. I was so happy and Graeme was over the moon. Master Jamie picked up $100 000 for third. He goes to $1 million in prize-money ... the first horse who has stayed in Rockhampton to do so ... creating a bit of history that it is just a privilege to be part of."

And, for much of it, Tilley has been on that journey with Master Jamie from the time he won by 6.75 lengths on debut to his third place finish in the KOTM a little over five years later.

In fact, of Master Jamie’s fifty-seven starts, Tilley has been in the saddle on thirty-one occasions for eleven wins.

Those overall statistics can be broken down into three parts.

Part 1: Tilley had seventeen rides on Master Jamie in the horse’s first twenty-one starts in the two years from November 2018 to November 2020 ... for eight wins, which included an impressive five-race winning sequence.

Part 2: Tilley then went ‘missing,’ only riding Master Jamie in two of his next nineteen starts from December 2020 to late May 2022.

Well, not missing exactly, but rather otherwise occupied.

"I was trying to juggle between Spurcraft and Master Jamie at that time,” explained Tilley. “I was riding Spurcraft in all of the big races down in Brisbane and Master Jamie was racing up north still, so I was juggling between, for example, riding the Bat Out Of Hell or going to a Rocky Saturday race.

“That’s where I went MIA with regards to Master Jamie for a bit. I think I was injured during that time as well ... and there might have been a suspension.

“Chris Whiteley won on him one of the times I was riding Spurcraft (Tilley would ultimately partner Spurcraft to nine wins including the Listed Bribie Handicap) ... and then there was quite a period of time when we were claiming on Master Jamie, because he was carrying that 64 or 65kg.

“But then Graeme put me back on and he bolted in with 65kg.

Enter Part 3: From June 2022 to the King Of The Mountain run in January 2024, the ‘old firm’ was back in business with Tilley partnering Master Jamie in twelve out of seventeen starts over that period ... for another three wins.

“My biggest win on him? Geez ... there’s a few,” said Tilley.

“The first one was very good, but the best ones would have been the first and second Rocky Cups ... and when he won in town it was a great thrill ... but I daresay the two Rocky Cups were the most emotional.

"Obviously, he is one of my favourites ... I’ve had so much to do with him. He is definitely going to retire to my paddock at home.

“He is an absolute gentleman at home. Put him in the paddock and he is not one of those who is going to race around ... he’ll just have a pick, have a roll ... he is just an old gentleman at home ... although he still has his play on race-day.

"At Toowoomba, for example, he got to the 100m mark on the way out. I stopped and I was waiting for it. I could just feel him building up ... and he spun around, squealed, kicked up and took off ... and that’s when I knew we were on song, and we were definitely going to be there.

“You couldn’t say I was happy, because I was hanging on for dear life but, when he lets that squeal out, you know you’ve got the real horse here today.

“I just have a great association with, not only Master Jamie, but with Graeme.

"Graeme is the type of bloke you can phone up and have a random conversation and enjoy the chat so much you forgot you had to ask him a question ... and have to ring him back.

“He is such a nice person, and it is so good to see him get this success and to see him so happy.”

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