Gold Coast trainer Adam Campton believes provincial stint will help apprentice jockey Jace McMurray
Campton has the utmost faith in McMurray's 'raw ability' but feels the 19-year-old had joined Michael Freedman's stable at Randwick a little prematurely.
'I didn't want him going to Sydney, I personally didn't believe he was ready,' Campton revealed on Friday.
'But it's a great learning curve for him. We've got the (spring) carnival around the corner and it's the best thing in the world for him to pop up here (southeast Queensland) and go back to the provincials in NSW where you've got riders like Grant Buckley, Keagan Latham and Jeff Penza.
'They're seasoned riders who he can learn plenty from. If he goes back to the provincials it won't be the worst thing in the world for him.
'Sydney would've taught him a fair bit but hopefully he can learn more coming up here.'
McMurray was scoring winners at an impressive strike rate of 15 per cent as an apprentice under Campton before he started a new chapter in his fledgling career at Randwick.
But he has only landed one winner, a Benchmark 64 at Gosford on July 10, in his past 50 rides and will be hoping to find some success on Saturday at Eagle Farm, where he has been booked for six rides.
According to the bookies, McMurray's best chances are All's Fair and Dont Call Me Honey (both $11) in races one and three in Brisbane.
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'He's got a lot of raw talent and hopefully the trip to Sydney can help him grow as a rider,' Campton said.
'He learnt plenty up here where he was surrounded by good riders every morning but Sydney's a different kettle of fish.
'I know he hasn't been going as good down there but with a 3kg claim, the winners will come.'
McMurray still pinches himself when he looks around the Sydney jockeys' room and sees stars such as James McDonald, Kerrin McEvoy, Tommy Berry and Nash Rawiller.
Congratulations to Jace McMurray, who rode his first Canterbury winner in Race 3 - and has backed it up with another winner in Race 4! 🤩
Just Feelin' Lucky does the job for @MFreedmanRacing! @aus_turf_club pic.twitter.com/eHTG83Ze39
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 28, 2025
But on the racetrack, McMurray can't afford to be starstruck because these are jockeys he needs to beat regularly if he ever wants to be mentioned as being in that elite bracket.
'When you see them walking around the jockeys' room, you see how far you've come,' said McMurray, who has leaned heavily on Berry for advice on race technique and tactics.
'But when you're out there racing, you just focus on the race and the horse.
'They're very respectful, especially in the jockeys' room, but they've got a job to do and they won't give you any room out there (on the racetrack).'
McMurray said the main difference between riding in Brisbane and Sydney was that jockeys in the Harbour City not only knew how to win, they had all the tricks in the bag to stop their main rivals from saluting.
'You only have to look around the room to see how many Group 1 wins they've had between them,' said the Gosford-born, Cairns-raised McMurray.
'They know who the real danger is so not only will they try to win on their horse, they'll try to get you beat at the same time.
'I've found a lot more here, you're always getting pocketed.'
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