Jason Morgan’s return to racing pays off

By Glenn Davis

Rockhampton’s Jason Morgan once dabbled in pig and poultry farming in Papua New Guinea before the training bug returned.

Morgan grew up in Rockhampton and was a harness racing driver, claiming three premierships with his father Barry as trainer in the 1980s and 1990s.

But, in 2019, he and his wife Lisa moved to Papua New Guinea to work in a gold mine.

“I had been involved in harness racing since I was a kid before my wife and I went to work in a gold mine on an island in Papua New Guinea,” Morgan said.

“It was about a two-hour flight from Port Moresby.

“We got locked down on the island during Covid so my wife turned me into a pig and poultry farmer.

“I had never done anything with pigs or poultry before.”

Morgan’s stint as a pig and poultry farmer lasted two years before the couple returned to Rockhampton in Central Queensland.

“My wife got a job as an accountant in the mines at Moura, so I decided to try training thoroughbreds again,” the 58-year-old Morgan said. 

“I got my harness training licence when I was 18 and I’ve been training gallopers on and off for about 10 years.”

Fast forward to now and Morgan is making his mark on Rockhampton racing.

In the current season, Morgan has saddled 10 starters for three wins and four placings.

Morgan will head to his home track at Callaghan Park on Tuesday with a team of three, including Fancy Geeone and Sport in the QTIS Three-Year-Old Handicap over 1200 metres.

Stablemate Patienceofasaint was also an acceptor in the QTIS Three-Year-Old Handicap, but will start in the Maiden Plate over 1400 metres.

Morgan has a big opinion of Fancy Geeone, who is coming off a dominant maiden win against her own age at Rockhampton on October 17.

“She’s going to be a smart filly,” Morgan said.

“She lacked a bit of barrier confidence early on, but she’s over that now.

“Hopefully, she’ll go through the grades and if she keeps improving, I might target a three-year-old race in Brisbane later on.”

Sport broke his maiden at Rockhampton in May, earning him a shot at the $100,000 QTIS 2YO Classic in Townsville in June, where he finished well beaten in ninth place behind the Alisha Taylor-trained The Barber.

“Sport is having his first run back and his long-range targets will be the Guineas races up north,” Morgan said.

“I took him to Townsville for the big race up there last start, but he never saw the track after being caught wide.”