RESURRECTING his riding career, let alone winning a $3m race in Australia, wasn’t
in Ash Morgan’s thoughts when he withdrew from the industry in the UK nearly a decade ago.
Welsh-born Morgan had ridden 71 winners but became disillusioned through a lack of opportunities, and took on a job totally away from racing.
“I rode a stakes winner back home and only one winner after that, and vowed I would never ride again,” the 34-year-old said this morning in the afterglow of his stunning triumph at the Sunshine Coast last night on exciting unbeaten Newcastle colt Private Harry in the $3m Sunlight (1100m), a new slot race for three-year-olds, at the Magic Millions carnival.
“It was unreal. Private Harry controlled the race. It’s amazing to think this is his first preparation, and he keeps getting better. He ran a track record, even bettering the time of the previous race winner (Payline), who won The Syndicate for open company sprinters.
And he beat the Golden Slipper winner Lady Of Camelot, so who knows how good he might be?”
Private Harry ($5), a $115,000 Inglis Classic yearling sale purchase in 2023, didn’t just beat last year’s Slipper winner and $3 favorite, he trounced her by nearly two and a half lengths after taking the lead on straightening and quickly bursting clear to put the issue beyond doubt for trainer Nathan Doyle and connections.
The rich purse lifted the Harry Angel colt’s earnings to $1.37m – to say nothing of sending his price tag as a future stallion soaring - after previous wins at Newcastle, Hawkesbury and Rosehill Gardens, and Morgan has been aboard in all four races.
After hanging up his saddle back home, Morgan got right away from racing – but says it indirectly proved a blessing when he did return.
“I worked in an office in London selling real estate for a year, and then did recruitment for another year,” he explained.
“My communication skills weren’t too good when I was riding, and having to talk with people every day definitely helped me a lot in that regard, especially when I first came to Australia and had to ring trainers for rides.”
Knowing a few other racing compatriots had moved here, he had a change of heart and decided to try his luck back in the saddle.
“I sent out quite a few emails to trainers who were getting winners,” he said.
“Brett Cavanough from Scone replied and was happy to take me on, and I think I got perhaps only one other reply.
“As Brett was training winners, I felt he was the person I should go to. I’m very appreciative of Brett giving me a chance, and he is a good friend and always very supportive.”
It was also at Scone that Morgan first met Nathan Doyle, who had resurrected his training career there before relocating to Newcastle in 2019.
Not surprisingly, he has ridden 52 winners for Doyle, and 30 for Cavanough (his two most successful trainers).
Morgan’s weight had soared to 68kg and, having decided to rekindle his career in a new land, he went to America for a few months to become acquainted with horses again and get his weight down to an acceptable riding level.
His first day back riding in his adopted country was hardly auspicious – and a mighty long way from the bright lights of the Sunshine Coast on a warm Saturday evening when a new $3m race was up for grabs.
“It was a Saturday Sky 2 TAB meeting (at Coonabarabran on July 28, 2018), and I had a full book of six rides,” Morgan said.
“I rode in the first two races (he finished last on $71 roughie Brother Bruce and fifth on $101
outsider Gulgong) before the rest of the meeting was abandoned due to the state of the track.”
Morgan subsequently rode at a number of non-TAB meetings, quickly put that less than forgettable first day behind him, rode 45 winners in his first full new season in 2018-19 - and hasn’t looked back.
Twice he has been the State’s leading rider with the most number of winners – the first in 2020-21 with 136 (beating James McDonald with 121) and 137.5 last season – and with 47 so far in NSW in just over five months of this season, isn’t far off apprentice Mollie Fitzgerald (57.5), who bagged a Kembla Grange treble yesterday.
Morgan, along with others, feared on Friday night that yesterday’s opening meeting of the Magic Millions carnival would not go ahead after so far unexplained damage to a section of the Gold Coast track made racing impossible there.
“We had a phone hook-up, and I was a bit angry because at one stage it appeared the races wouldn’t be on,” he said.
“Thankfully they were transferred to the Sunshine Coast and the track raced really well even though it was rated a Soft 6 for Private Harry’s race.”
The transfer though presented some logistical problems.
“I didn’t have a car and had to hire one at the Gold Coast to get to the Sunshine Coast,” Morgan said.
“It was a long day. I was up at 4am, Private Harry’s race was at 8.15pm and I was emotionally
drained when I got back to the Coast and went straight to bed.”
Morgan celebrated with lunch with the colt’s connections today after booking an evening flight back home.
There’s an old saying that the harder you work, the luckier you get. It certainly applies in Morgan’s case.
He will be on the road again early in the morning to fulfil five bookings – including three for trainer Bjorn Baker, whose Sydney stable is flying - at the Cup meeting at Moruya.
And he’ll be in action at Wyong’s first Saturday stand-alone metropolitan meeting on Saturday.
HOOFNOTE: Doyle and Kurrinda Bloodstock also purchased Private Harry’s younger half-brother (by Anders) for $100,000 at the Inglis Classic yearling sale last February.
He is now a two-year-old but yet to race, and has been named Lance Corporal.
Story by John Curtis, 5 January, 2025.
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