Mackay honours one of its favourite sons

By Jordan Gerrans

As the feature Mackay Cup rolls around for 2024 this Saturday afternoon, the thousands of punters who walk through the gates of the Ooralea facility will be able to acknowledge a champion of the 'Sugar City' on entry.

As Mackay Turf Club racing manager Joe Hynes notes, the majority of racing followers know legendary jockey George Moore is a Queenslander but it is not quite as widely understood exactly where he hails from.

“They probably do not know that he was born and lived in Mackay,” Hynes said this week ahead of the big $150,000 Cup.

The Central Queensland city is proud of all their elite sporting exports but at the local race club they are especially chuffed that the former world-class rider hails from Mackay.

Hynes recalls meeting Moore one day at the races in Doomben many years ago.

Moore is regarded as one of the best jockeys to ever ride in a race.

He passed away in 2008 at 84 years of age as Australia’s all-time leading Group 1 rider.

Moore became a globe-trotting high-level jockey at his peak but he enjoyed humble beginnings in regional Queensland as he started out delivery papers for the Daily Mercury on horseback in and around Mackay as a 13-year-old.

He worked his first horse at Ooralea and rode at the Mackay Showgrounds trot meetings before heading to Brisbane at age 14 to learn as a jockey.

“He started out riding a bit of track work and in the trots when he was about 13 years old as his dad George senior was an amateur jockey,” Mackay Turf Club president John Philps said.

“That is where the interest in horses started, which came at quite a young age. He headed to Brisbane at 14 years of age to become an apprentice jockey.

“The Moore family has not only contributed to racing in Mackay and in Queensland but right across the world.

“It is a privilege that Mackay can lay claim to George having started his career here in the city.”

After being apprenticed in Brisbane in 1938, Moore won the jockeys’ premiership in Brisbane in 1943 and went on to be recognised as premier jockey in Sydney 10 times between 1957 and 1969.

Moore teamed up with trainer T.J. (Tommy) Smith in 1949 and formed one of the most successful trainer-jockey combinations in Australian racing history.

Moore rode the winners of most of Australia’s great races, some on several occasions, including five AJC and two VRC Derbies, as well as two Cox Plates, three Sydney Cups and two Golden Slippers, among others. 

He also claimed a host of big-time races in his home state, including the Stradbroke Handicap and Doomben 10,000, among others. 

His tally of 126 Group 1 victories stood as an Australian record when he passed away and was only recently surpassed by the great Damien Oliver.

Moore also took his riding talents across the globe, competing in England, France and in the US before winning the mantle of the leading trainer in Hong Kong for 11 out of 13 years.

He eventually retired to the Gold Coast before his death. 

The Mackay club erected a memorial piece about Moore’s life and contribution to the sport a couple of years ago.

“When they come into our club, the first thing they see is a picture of George as well as some history and a story about his career,” Hynes said.

As more than 3,000 people are set to roll through the gates this Saturday, the club’s hierarchy often reflect on his impact on racing history around this time of year.

“People in Mackay are very proud to be associated with George Moore and the fact that he came from Mackay,” Philps said.

“Mackay has produced a number of great sporting talents and George Moore is another example of that as a pioneer in the racing industry.

“At the track here we have a memorial piece for George.

“People often come and look at that George’s achievements throughout his racing career.”

Mackay resident and racing enthusiast Paul Maguire pushed for more recognition in the city for Moore which led to the tribute being installed at the track.

“We organised the memorabilia and Mackay Turf Club was pleased to be involved,’’ Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson said.

“The race course is a fitting home for the tribute to George Moore.”

Mackay also has a park for children to play at near the race course which is named the George Moore Park in his honour.

The Brisbane Racing Club annually host the George Moore Stakes, which is run at Group 3 level.

The now-retired Zoustyle is the reigning champion of the race named in the late jockey’s honour, claiming the event in December of last year.

In New South Wales, the George Moore Medal is presented annually to Sydney’s outstanding jockey.

In 1972, Moore became an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to racing.

“Australia has been blessed with many, many great jockeys and George has always been mentioned in the top echelon,” Hynes said.

“The Mackay people are proud of the sportsman they have produced, including George.

“He might be on the top of the list for athletes to ever come out of Mackay.”

The Moore name is synonymous with racing around the globe with an array of George’s family members also making their mark in the sport.