South Australian racing will welcome a new partnership in season 2021/22 with Damien Moyle joining forces with Group 1 winning trainer Gordon Richards.
That will see Moyle, 30, with a runner in the world richest race on turf when Gytrash tackles the $15m TAB Everest (1200m) at Royal Randwick in October.
“It sort of doesn’t feel right," Moyle said of the chance to be mixing it with the biggest names in Sydney later in the year.
“But I’ve been a big part of that horse’s career since he was a yearling.
“There will be a lot of people wanting to comment about how lucky I am, but it’s just the way things have turned out.
Moyle said the partnership had been a long time in the planning.
“It’s really exciting, obviously an awesome opportunity, and after four years working here it feels like the right thing to do,’’ Moyle said.
“We first discussed it a couple of years back.
"When I initially went to Gordon about getting my licence, we discussed the idea and I’m really looking forward to it,’’ he said.
Moyle said being able to combine new ideas with Richards’ experience would hold the stable in great shape moving forward.
“We work very well together, and the feedback from the owners since we let them know has been really positive,’’ Moyle said.
“I always thought that would be the case, it’s something we’ve been open about for a while but there has been a lot of nice messages,’’ he said.
Richards said the timing was right to promote Moyle who has been the backbone of his Morphettville stable.
“I just thought it was the perfect time to make the change,’’ Richards said.
“He’s been there handling things when ever I have been absent for a few years now and I thought it was better to do it now. Not much will really change.
“He’s young in terms of age, but he’s very experienced and very switched on, so why not do it now. I wish I’d been given a chance like that when I was his age.
“It also helps take some pressure off when you are away and it’s a really good opportunity for him to step up,’’ he said.
Moyle said he was looking forward to new phase of his career.
“I really don’t think much will change.
"I guess I’ll get a little bit more media exposure but nothing will change from a training perspective,’’ Moyle said.
“We will keep doing things as we’ve done for the past few years and hopefully can continue the success,’’ he said.
