Billy Marshall after his first New Zealand winner at Hāwera on Friday. Photo / Peter Rubery
English jumps jockey Billy Marshall brought up a special milestone at Hāwera on Friday when he recorded his first win in the saddle, and he did it with an angel on his shoulder.
The 24-year-old horseman has had a trying last 12 months after losing his best friend, Billy Moffatt, to suicide last year and he said he felt he was with him as he crossed the finish line aboard Red Ned in the Matapu Pre-school Jumpers Flat (2100m).
“Last year, I lost my best friend in racing to suicide, and he has played a big part in me pushing myself and aiming for success,” Marshall said. “It certainly feels like he is with me and pushing me to do better and better.”
Marshall has been in New Zealand for the last few months, initially living in Waikato before moving to Taranaki to work for trainer John Wheeler, who he said has been a massive supporter in his short time in New Zealand.
“When I first came over I worked for Jess and Pete [Brosnan] and Wexford, but I am now with John Wheeler and he gave me my first ride and then my first win on Friday,” Marshall said.
“To get that first win was an amazing feeling.”
While he has made a living riding for the best part of a decade, horses weren’t always a part of Marshall’s life and he admitted being scared of the animal until he moved in with his extended family as a child and followed his cousins into the saddle.
“When I was 10 years old, I was terrified of horses,” Marshall said. “My cousins, who we used to live with, two of them are jockeys and one was an event rider. They are a similar age and they were always riding horses when they were younger.
“Out of stubbornness, I thought I had to get on one of these things one day and I overcame the fear and I never really looked back.”
Marshall followed one of his cousins into a career in eventing before finding his way into racing, after losing his love for his initial pursuit.
“I didn’t have the money to financially fund myself, so I rode for a couple of big people in the eventing world,” he said. “Because I didn’t have the money to do it myself, I ended up looking over my shoulder the whole time and I ended up losing my top horse that I was riding so I hit a spot where I was not really enjoying it anymore.
“I was riding out in a local racing yard at the same time and I was really enjoying it and one day I went ‘let’s give it a go’.”
While his passion to pursue a career in racing was there, his weight was not, with Marshall having to lose a significant amount of weight to fit the mould of a jumps jockey.
“I was very heavy, I was about 85 kilos before I came into racing, so I had to work very hard at getting my weight in order before I made the decision to do it,” he said. “Once I got that down, it was a no-brainer and I haven’t looked back.”
While he ticked the weight box and had plenty of experience in the saddle through his time in eventing, Marshall said he found it hard to gain rides in his homeland, having to compete with many fellow aspiring jockeys, with nepotism heavily prevalent.
“Although I had a decent background in being able to ride a horse, I never had the racing experience and it was a struggle to be able to get opportunities at home because there are so many jockeys who have been doing it since they were kids,” he said.
“Trying to get the opportunities and fighting against the jockeys that are related to trainers, you are never really going to win.”
Marshall’s former colleague and now good friend Brandon Holliday had moved to New Zealand and witnessing Marshall’s struggles in England, he urged him to join him on the other side of the world to pursue further opportunities.
With a pioneering mindset, along with the urgings of Holliday and spurred on by the recent loss of his best mate, Marshall elected to bite the bullet and try his luck in New Zealand. While still in the infancy of his move, he said it is one of the best decisions he has made.
“It was quite a daunting thought but I had a friend out here who I used to work with, Brandon Holliday, who has just turned into a jumps jockey, he was an amateur last season,” Marshall said.
“He never had his licence out when he was in England and he could see the effort and work I was putting in at home and I wasn’t getting anything out of it. He said I should try coming out over here because I would definitely get opportunities.
“It took a lot for me to do it but eventually one day I just thought ‘why not?’ and I jumped on a plane and came over.
“I think it was one of the best decisions I have made, just with the opportunities and being able to gain the experience and prove what I can do, which I wasn’t able to do over in England.
“It was a great decision for me to come out and I am glad that he [Holliday] made me do it.”
Buoyed by his first win, Marshall is now looking forward to the jumps season commencing and he is particularly looking forward to continuing his partnership with Red Ned.
“He has beaten a good horse in Lord Spencer and hopefully he has got quite an exciting future,” Marshall said. “He is a good jumper at home and he is definitely one I expect to ride for the season anyway.”
A rider with a competitive mindset, Marshall has set his sights towards the top of his sport and said he would love to win a premiership in time.
“It has always been a goal of mine that if I am riding a horse, I want to be the best that I can be,” he said. “I would love to one day be a champion. If, for whatever reason, I could pull off a premiership in my first season over here that would be a big dream come true, but just getting opportunities and experience and hopefully giving it a crack next year would be pretty cool.”
While riding is Marshall’s main aim, he is also on a mission to raise awareness around mental health, following the passing of his best mate last year.
In a bid to achieve that and generate a conversation about mental health, particularly among jockeys, Marshall has created a social media presence, @_stable_mind_ on Instagram and @stable.minds77 on TikTok, to share his message.
“I started an Instagram page where I am trying to help people that are struggling and if it helps one person then it is worth it,” he said.
“I have done therapy a bit myself and I know talking about your problems, especially people in the racing industry, is nigh on impossible, but using things like the gym and activity and making sure they are eating right can be a big help because that can really affect how you feel.
“I have always found that going to the gym has really helped me, so I thought if I could promote stuff like that it might start helping people feel a bit better and work on improving themselves.
“I am trying to let people know that it is okay to be struggling, but it is how you deal with it.
“We [jockeys] are not wired the same as a lot of people and there are other ways to make themselves feel better because when you feel like shit you lose all motivation to do anything.
“Even if you pick yourself up and go down to the gym and start eating a bit better, it helps you feel less shit about yourself.”
With a riding career and mental health message to push, Marshall is keeping himself busy during his time in New Zealand, which he said he is loving and he could see himself making a permanent move if he can forge a successful riding career here.
“I am really enjoying New Zealand at the moment, it is a brilliant place,” he said. “I will certainly be coming back next season and depending on how it is going I would consider it [staying permanently].
“Hopefully we can pick it (jumps racing) up again and put it on the map and there will be a long life to the sport that would help me to be able to stay over here.”
– LOVERACING.NZ News Desk