Ask the owner of any race horse and they will tell you the same thing- winning a race with a horse you own is infectious. That winning feeling leaves you wanting more and for Victorian based David Murray it is no exception.
Having been involved in the sport of trotting since he was a teenager, the appeal of racing a horse has never left. It just happened that there was a period of over 25 years in between the last horse Murray was involved with and his “comeback”.
Murray started his involvement in the sport at a young age.
Before long the bug had bitten, he began working around the stables and not long after had obtained his licence to drive in races.
“I drove my first winner at Cobram when I was 16 years old” recalls Murray with a distinct glint in his eye. Growing up around the bush tracks of country Victoria, those halcyon days of this great sport, there was much to learn for a green teenage lad.
Recanting a tale from that time brings a chuckle. At a time when drivers had to weigh in after the race and with his declared carrying weight at 10 stone, a young Murray only tipped the scales at 8 stone and therefore had to carry a 2 stone lead bag. After coming back to scale after driving the winner, he realised he had no weight in the lead bag. Some quick thinking and a rummage through the car and all was averted. “I grabbed some spanners and anything else that would add some weight to the lead bag before I weighed in”.
Another yarn that Murray recalls fondly was a race he was driving in at a bush meeting. Leading the race and with the field stacked up behind him, he heard a yell from a fellow driver pleading he had lost control and needed clear running for safety. Obliging and moving wider on the track, a wily driver deft of hand took the run and went on to win the race.
Spoken to after the race by the winning reinsman, the dialogue was a lesson on the track. “He came up to me and said ‘Don’t ever fall for that one again son, that’s your lesson to learn”.
Continuing with his driving career, David Murray was a member of what became known as Victoria’s first official group of Junior Drivers. This initial group included names that would go on to be stars of the sport such as Brian Gath, Ted Demmler, Ginger Gleeson and Bill Le Sueur.
“I recently attended Teddy’s 70th birthday, it was great to catch up with some of the old crew again and swap stories”.
With business commitments starting to increase, Murray made the decision to scale back his hands on involvement in the sport, although maintaining his interest as an owner there was success with New Mielien. This breeding line saw Murray and his family taste success across 3 generations of this horse lineage.
Into the early 80’s and with working and family life taking over, a hiatus from the sport ensued. The time away was not from lack of love or interest in the racing game, it was just how life panned out. Retirement soon approached and the opportunity to return to the fold as an owner came about through the illness of a family member.
“My brother-in-law was racing a horse he had bred and all the family were following the horse. He became sick with Prostate Cancer and was doing it a bit tough. I offered him some cash but also said I would give him some more if I could buy the horse”.
The deal was struck and David Murray had his first foray back into the sport in almost 30 years as the owner of Zedaguy.
With his son living in Brisbane the discussion came about as to who would train the horse, and Murray’s son and grandson were quick to chime in that driver/trainer partnership of Pete McMullen and Chantal Turpin were doing some great work.
Within 3 weeks Zedaguy was having his first start under the ownership of D S Murray and training of C A Turpin. Finishing in 7th position 7m adrift of the winner, the signs were encouraging that the horse had some more wins in store.
Taking a while to work out how to harness the best of Zedaguy, it was at his 7th start for Turpin that things fell into place.
Driven patiently by Pete McMullen the gelding settled in a one out, one back position. After momentarily appearing that he may be snookered, he was able to burst out of the pocket and sprinted well up the home straight to land his first win for the new connections.
That win gave Zedaguy the confidence to go on with it and he soon strung together 3 wins within a 5 start period. The win also ensured the immediate and extended Murray family would be continuing to tune into Sky Channel to watch their pride and joy compete.
David Murray has embraced his return to this wonderful sport with the same zest he had as a young teenager.
Despite living in the outer suburbs of Melbourne, Murray is yet to miss a race at Albion Park of his stable star and proudly wears his blue and white Zedaguy cap at every race-track appearance. Ill health is no obstacle either.
With Zedaguy engaged to compete at Albion Park, Murray had succumbed to an ear complaint, however there was no way he would miss the opportunity to be trackside. “I bet he didn’t tell you last time he came to watch him that he drove 3 days just to get here” Murray’s son laughs “The doctor told him that he could not fly because of the ear infection so he decided he would drive here instead”.
And it hasn’t taken long for Murray to expand his ownership, claiming Courageous Kiwi from a race at Albion Park on February 3. At Albion Park on St Patricks Day, Courageous Kiwi landed a small pot of gold for Murray when scoring a decisive victory.
Looking at possibly moving to Queensland on a full time basis, the stable may soon expand even further and more hats may need to be designed.
One thing is certain, that winning feeling has bitten the Murray family and chances are we may well be seeing more of them both on track and in the winner’s enclosure.
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