Sue Murphy’s recent career milestone crept up on the Naracoorte-based thoroughbred trainer.
Longmire’s win at the local track earlier this month brought up Murphy’s 500th win, but the weeks beforehand were hardly spent in countdown mode.
“A while ago my nephew, Tyson, went through my record and said ‘You know what, you’re not far off 500 winners’,” Murphy said.
“I had no idea I was that close.
“Anyway, I got that double at Naracoorte in late December and that took me to 499, but I knew I wouldn’t get there before the New Year, because I didn’t have any more runners.
“But it was fantastic to actually reach that number.”
Murphy trained her first winner in 1994 (Young Astronaut) and since then has transformed her stable into a powerful South East presence, churning out winners regularly. She has travelled far and wide across South Australia and Victoria to rack up her tally.
“We went to Manangatang, Terang, Wycheproof, Swan Hill… everywhere in Victoria,” she said.
“The only place in South Australia I’d still like to go to is Port Lincoln. I’ve never had a runner there and I’d like to, but I don’t know if I want to take a horse that far away.”
The moderately performed Longmire achieved Murphy’s milestone in an equally humble benchmark 64 event – but the trainer says the six-year-old gelding’s troubled history made him the perfect milestone bearer.
“When we got Longmire, he got a pinprick in his hock, then his leg swelled up, he couldn’t walk and we had to rush him to Ballarat to save him,” she said.
“I didn’t think we were going to get him back, I thought we were going to lose him.
“He eventually ended up out in the paddock for 15 months and we had to keep nurturing him.
“I said to the owners I thought this was the best one to reach that 500, because we spent so much time on him.”
Murphy, 54, is now setting sail on her next 500 winners and is excited about some new developments at her property.
“I had a stallion called Barood and I bought a mare who’s now in foal to Barood – he stands over at Eden Stud in Victoria,” she said.
“So that’s a new journey for me.
“I’ve also bought plenty of young ones – everything’s looking really good at the moment.”
Caption: Naracoorte racehorse trainer Sue Murphy brought up her 500th career winner earlier this month.
PHOTO: Makoto Kaneko-The Rising Sun Photography
