City forecast looking good for Youngberry

By Jordan Gerrans

Impressive apprentice Bella Youngberry has set her sights on the city riding title after being crowned the provincial premiership champion at the 2026 Queensland Thoroughbred Awards.

It is the natural progression to elevate from the provincial to the metropolitan ranks, with the Gold Coast-based youngster recently making a smooth transition.

Youngberry was honoured for her outstanding season on the provincial circuit in season 2025-26 on Sunday evening at the awards ceremony, while fellow talented apprentice Jace McMurray was recognised for his efforts in town.

The 20-year-old McMurray was handed the award that Youngberry is gunning for now over the next year and the incumbent winner believes she has every chance of lifting the crown in July of 2027.

“Bella Youngberry is coming through the ranks,” McMurray said.

“I think she'll go well in town now with the three-kilogram claim. That'll go pretty quickly, I think. 

"She’s making her mark in town.”

While it is only early in the 2026-27 term, Youngberry is setting the pace when it comes to the city premiership among the apprentices.

She has 10 winners to her name and only trails Ben Thompson in the overall riding ranks.

The 20-year-old Youngberry has her eyes on making it double premiership glory in consecutive seasons.

“I certainly do, I try to think that I'd like to go one better after winning the provincial,” she said.

“I'd love to go and get that metro premiership and tick it off, but obviously we do have some very class apprentices in Queensland at the moment.

“I think it'd be a big achievement to be in the top two or three, but it's definitely something I'd love to set out to do.”

While Youngberry notes that there are several top riders in the hunt for the 2026-27 city riding premiership, not many of them have the backing of leading trainer Tony Gollan, as she does.

She heads to the races on Saturday with three bookings for the premier conditioner, while also taking two engagements for her master Adam Campton.

After only recently ticking off her maiden city win a few weeks ago, the young rider says she has been blown away by the support she has received from some big stables in the Sunshine State since she joined the metro arena.

“It's pretty off the charts,” she said.

“I did not expect to step out into town and have this much success so early, but I am obviously very appreciative to have all the opportunities that I do have.

“I think there are a few expectations now, so I'm just trying to uphold them. I'm just so grateful. I'm blown out of the water that I'm able to ride for these trainers.

“I was only talking to my Dad on the way to the awards on Sunday and I just said, even my worst day in town is the thing that I dreamed of two years ago.

“So, to be in the position that I am now, I think mini-me would just have their mind blown.”

The Gollan and Campton stables have provided Youngberry with the bulk of her winners in recent weeks since she has graduated from the provincials.

In claiming the 2025-26 provincial riding premiership, Youngberry finished three wins clear of her nearest rival, Leah Martyn.

“It's a huge achievement that I latched onto halfway through the year when I realised it was possible,” she reflected.

“Obviously, there was a lot of competition with my good friend, Leah Martyn, and it came down to the wire.

“I was just stoked to get the job done. 

"It's been on the list of things that I wanted to achieve on the goals list, so to tick it off this year, I was just so ecstatic.

“At the start of the season, I really just wanted to try and get through my claim, ride a few winners and see where it placed me.

“But, as I said, halfway through when I realised it's definitely something that was achievable, I latched onto it then.”

Originally indentured to Allan Chau at the Gold Coast when her career commenced in early 2024, Youngberry had a stint in the Central West with Bevan Johnson before heading to the Northern Rivers of New South Wales for a period of time.

She has eventually found her way to Campton’s barn at the Gold Coast, which has helped her rise in prominence sharply.

Reflecting on her gong for the 2025-26 campaign, Youngberry says riding at venues such as Barcaldine and Mount Isa helped to shape her into the hoop she is today.

“I think everything I did was very important and everywhere I went, I learnt something new,” she said.

“Obviously, I went to regional Queensland, where I cut my teeth and really learnt to begin well in a race and then I went down to the Northern Rivers and fine-tuned my skills and just tried to polish myself up before coming back to the Gold Coast.

“I learnt a lot from a lot of different jockeys and trainers and learnt how to ride different tracks, but everything I did, I like to think, was for a reason.

“There were certainly character-building moments. I think all the different places that I went, I learnt different things along the way and adapted to different styles and different ways of racing.

“I think that crafted the way that I ride today. Being able to watch and learn from different jockeys, I think that shaped me into the jockey that I am now.

“I don't regret a single thing I've done. I think it's crafted me into who I am today and made me as strong as I am.”