Group 1 winning South African hoop Callan Murray moving to Adelaide
South African star Callan Murray will call Adelaide home from next month with the multiple Group 1 winning jockey keen to hit the ground running in his second stint in Australia.
The 24-year-old is set to base himself in South Australia next season after securing a visa to continue his career down under.
Murray rode in Australia as an apprentice during the 2016/17 season before going on to enjoy successful stints overseas in Hong Kong and Singapore.
He has since returned to his homeland to ride while attempting to orchestrate a move back to Australia in recent times.
The talented hoop has now got the green light to make the move and will jet out of South Africa on August 1 and arrive in Australia two days later before beginning the mandatory two weeks hotel quarantine.
“It has been quite a hassle trying to get a flight but I am very excited to get over there,” Murray said.
“I have been wanting to come over to Australia for a long time, about two years now, but it has been difficult to get a visa to ride over there.
“Racing SA have helped so I've been very fortunate for that, and Lachlan Weekley has been a great help as well.
“I am really looking forward to it.”
Murray arrives in South Australia with a wealth of experience on the world stage for a rider of his age and has snared nine Group 1 victories to date.
He plans to settle at Morphettville when he arrives in the country and hopes to use his international experience to his advantage.
“I have been very fortunate to travel throughout my career and ride against some of the best jockeys and trainers. I got a lot of experience so hopefully I can apply that in Oz,” Murray said.
“The plan is to work hard.
“I just want to make some good relationships and get my foot in a few doors to cement myself a bit.
“After that hopefully I can start building some momentum but it’s difficult to plan these things until I get there.”
The South Australian jockeys’ room already has a strong South African presence with Barend Vorster and Karl Zechner both among the top-10 riders in the state.
It comes after multiple Group 1 winning South African trainers Gary and Dean Alexander made the decision to relocate to Australia to begin working out of the new training centre of excellence being developed at Murray Bridge.
Originally published asGroup 1 hoop to call South Australia home
Source: Read Full Article