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By Ray Hickson

It’s been a dream start to training for former jockey Pat Murphy and as much as he hopes his momentum can continue at Hawkesbury on Thursday he’s very much still in the establishment phase.

Trainer Pat Murphy (Pic: Bradley Photos)

Murphy, 36, retired from riding back in 2015 and spent the interim working behind the scenes in the south east area before taking out his license at the start of this season.

He’s so far only had two horses to race for six starters, Affiliate was his first runner back in late September and on November 6 became his first winner.

Shortly after Bet Red gave him a double and as that gelding heads to Hawkesbury for the HRC Motel Handicap (1300m), Murphy said the early success was unexpected but welcome.

“It was a bit of a shock. You’re going there hoping more than anything, I wouldn’t be worried if I didn’t get a winner in my first 20,’’ he said.

“They are nice horses but they’re not anything outside the square. It was good to get a winner, then to back up with two was really great. It means I’m on the right path with them.

“You can sit back and go ‘I thought they’d run well and they did’.”

Of course Murphy goes back a long way in racing, his father is former STC and Australian Turf Club racecourse manager Lindsay Murphy who retired in 2019 after 42 years in the industry, and knows how tough it can be.

The decision to step away from race riding was an easy one for Murphy and was basically made by nature. He was battling to ride top weights and didn’t want to be a part-time jockey.

But training wasn’t necessarily Plan A, he’s been a producer for Sky Racing and could easily have pursued a media career, but the path started through former partner Tash Burleigh and led to stints at Waratah Farm and Kurt Goldman before the right offer came along.

“A good friend of mine who is a businessman in Goulburn wanted to get a few more horses and kept asking when I was going to train,’’ he said.

“You need that support and I thought this is my time to have a crack if I’m going to.

“If I was light enough now I could still nearly ride. But I don’t like to do things on and off and when I gave up I gave up properly and am on a different path.”

He does have the advantage of being able to ride his own horses in work and with eight boxes at Goulburn has the ability to be very hands on.

That’s how he likes it and with a horse like Bet Red, who came to Murphy from Victoria, he’s been able to start with a clean slate and got instant results.

The six-year-old had 17 starts in Victoria, most for Mick Price and Michael Kent Jr, and was effective up to 2000m so for him to win first-up at 1300m was encouraging.

Murphy said he considered going up in distance but believes the race at Hawkesbury is ideal and he’ll learn a lot about the gelding.

“He’s come through his run super,’’ he said.

Pat Murphy with his father Lindsay in 2018. (Pic: Bradley Photos)

“I am still learning about the horse and we will find out if he wants that bit further now he’s not that fresh. But his work is showing he’s ready for another 1300m.

“I could have looked for a 1400m but at the same time he won at 1300m so why change that. You get your ratings points and you go up so then you’re going up in distance and up in grade.

“I'm keeping him to one of the things that worked for him, that’s the 1300m, and he actually comes in well with the claim. We have the added bonus of the good barrier and it ticks a fair few boxes for his second-up run.”

Amy McLucas rides Bet Red again and he’ll carry 55kg, a 6kg drop on his first-up win.

Murphy’s been around racing long enough to know there’s going to be ups and downs. That dream start may not last but he’s prepared for it.

“It was the plan to just chip away and let the horses do the talking. The more I can do on my own the better it is but if it grows I can embrace that,’’ he said.

“If I’m not enjoying it now I’m going to have a hard career. My systems seem to be working well, the horses are running and working the way I want them to.”

All the fields, form and replays for Thursday's Hawkesbury meeting