Murray's miracles keep delivering for stable

By Jordan Gerrans

If you back a Bob Murray-prepared galloper on the provincial or country circuit and it looks as though your horse is in an unwinnable position – history suggests you should not lose hope.

Twice in the last 80 days has a Murray horse been buried back in the field looking like they had zero chance of getting the prize before launching late to score.

The first instance came at the Gold Coast in late November of last year before Readyentime doubled the dose on the sand at Bundaberg on Saturday afternoon.

Stabled at Eidsvold with Murray, Readyentime missed the start in the Benchmark 50 Handicap over 1380 metres on Saturday and was more than five lengths behind the field in the opening stages.

In the run, the mare was a long last at the 800 and 400 metre marks and was not even in camera shot with around 450 metres to go.

Readyentime’s pilot Damien Boutet gradually built momentum from there on and stuck to the fence as they snuck up under the field to score in miraculous fashion.

“Readyentime a big winner,” the voice of Bundaberg racing Jarrod Wessel noted as they crossed the finish line.

Readyentime’s owner Matthew Murray – Bob’s son - was watching on back home in Eidsvold and when the mare he rides in track work was not even in the screen, he thought all hope may have been lost.

“You never thought you would win the race from there,” Matthew said.

“We know she would get home and maybe finish in the top five or six we thought.

“You couldn’t even see her in the video where she was as she was so far behind. We were not in the screen in the run but it was a great ride as she stuck on the fence to save a lot of ground.

“If he decided to come around them then she would have got beaten four lengths or something like that and people would be saying it was a great run.”

The Better Than Ready mare has been with the Murrays since August of last year and as Matthew detailed, she has a knack of being slow away before running on well late in the piece.

The stunning victory on Saturday was the first time she had won for the stable in 12 attempts.

“We knew she would be back last, she always is,” Matthew said.

“The last five or six starts for us, that is what she seems to do. She is never far from the money, always running third or fourth. She always gets back and then runs on.

“Everything just went right the other day, she had a good run and away she went.”

The Murray family are the lifeblood of the sport in the Eidsvold area with several family members on the committee of the local race club and Bob one of the few trainers in the area.

The stable have six in work.

Remarkable come-from-behind wins have become a pattern for the Murrays of late.

Sudden Suspect set the tone on the Gold Coast Polytrack back in late November of last year as the maiden stayer was more than ten lengths behind the field over 1900 metres in the early stages of the event.

The seven-year-old gelding was last for the entire trip under the urgings of veteran hoop Cecily Eaton.

Like stable mate Readyentime, Sudden Suspect was not even in the broadcast shot as the field turned for home.

Eaton stuck to the fence to score a massive upset victory that shocked Gold Coast race caller Mitch Manners.

“It’s come back from tailed off to beat them, the winner,” Manners said.

“At one point in the race, had to be eight to ten lengths off the second last horse and just continued to chip away.”

Readyentime ($19) and Sudden Suspect ($26) were upset results on the track as well as for the bookmakers.

Sudden Suspect is nominated to head back to the Gold Coast this coming Saturday in a Ratings Band 0 – 58 Handicap over 1540 metres.

“That is that one’s racing pattern as well, gets back and gets home,” Matthew said.

The stable has Readyentime set to race again at Nanango this coming Saturday, as well.