Callan Murray is moving to Cape Town as a contracted rider for Philippi-based trainer Brett Crawford.
The lanky 24-year-old, who is unusually tall for a jockey, has already won nine Grade 1 races and was Champion Apprentice in the 2015/16 season.
Callan Murray
Tabnews reports that a notable highlight was landing three Gr1’s on Champions Day in 2017 when he steered Mustaqueem (SA Nursery), Rafeef (Computaform Sprint) and Deo Juvente (Premiers Champions Challenge) to victory.
Murray has also gained priceless insights overseas when plying his trade in Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia – seriously tough riding colonies in which to make an impact.
Crawford, who is an astute judge, not only of horseflesh but also race-riding potential, describes how the transfer came about. “I noticed that Callan was underutilised in Johannesburg, sometimes only getting a couple of rides at a meeting and his confidence was taking a knock.
“But he already has a good record for a young jockey with multiple Gr 1 victories and plenty of experience around the world. So, I approached him two weeks ago with an offer to ride for Crawford Racing and within a couple of days he’d made his decision to join our team.”
Well mannered and hard working, Murray gets a chance to cement his credentials in SA after a trying season where he’s battled to get fully under way despite his industriousness. He has managed 33 victories so far at a modest 10% strike rate – stats he will be looking to boost through his new alliance with Crawford, who gets his horses super fit and places them cannily in races where they figure to be competitive.
Anton Marcus and Greg Cheyne remain an integral part of Crawford’s set up through their allegiance to the Ridgemont operation of the Kieswetter family.
