Geraldton trainer Julia Martin looks back at her life in racing as she prepares for biggest race of the year

Getting her first horse when she was only four years old in Perth was where Julia Martin’s love of all things horses started. Now she is leading the pack this year on points as she chases down trainer of the year. The young Julia Harris’ first experience on the back of a horse came at a pony club in Perth at age eight, riding halter and lead. That day an onlooker who won a raffle — the prize being plaited reins — was so impressed with her riding that he gifted her the reins. This simple gesture sparked her into a new love of horses as she continued to ride. Fast forward to Harris’ late teens, she began working as a rider for trainer Sean Casey in Perth and took her riding skills to the next level while also getting her first real taste of training horses. After meeting her now husband Wayne Martin, she packed her things and moved up to Geraldton with him where her life in the country started. Owning a pet food business early in her days in Geraldton with her husband, Martin would see many horses come and go. Martin recalls the day she saw the mother of her first winner, Chase The Star, where it all began. “An owner came in one day with a horse complaining that it was too hard to manage,” she said. “I remember seeing Chase’s mum, Ribbons Of Blue get off the float and she was absolutely stunning. “When the owner left the horse with us, I remember saying that I couldn’t let her go and I wanted to have a crack.” “I persevered with her and worked hard with her.” The plan from there on for Martin was to breed Ribbons Of Blue to foal a racehorse given the pedigree Martin was working with. After Ribbons Of Blue fell pregnant with a local stallion, the Martin household prepared for Ribbons Of Blue to give birth to their first racehorse. Amid the preparation, Wayne fell ill with a throat infection. Martin rushed him to hospital where he was flown to Perth for treatment. That same night Ribbons Of Blue gave birth to Chase The Star. A whirlwind 24 hours for the Martin stables. Chase The Star went on to be Martin’s first winner, winning his first race at Geraldton back in 2011. Now 16 years old, Chase the Star happily trots in the back paddocks of Martin’s stables where one of Martin’s strappers, Caitlin Turner, learnt to ride on him. With that first win, Martin caught the bug of racing. “The thing I like about racing is that it’s quite competitive and training a horse to actually go in a race, to actually do good, is quite thrilling,” she said. “So after that first win you could imagine how I was feeling. “When you win your first race, it’s hard not to get addicted. “It gets into your blood and you just want to keep going.” Since that first win Martin hasn’t looked back, training multiple winners and cementing herself as a high-quality trainer in WA. Fast forward to now, Martin is leading the the pack of trainers as she closes in on trainer of the year title with only five meetings left in the season at Geraldton Turf Club. Martin is proud of her team that have helped her get where she is now. “The girls I have are so good, I am very lucky,” she said. “The girls are fantastic riders, they really impress me and to have as many as I do working with me helps me heaps. “The horses are lucky too, they have different riders all the time due to the girls’ dedication to what they do.” Martin still rides at 51 years young and said competitiveness had kept her in the game she loves. “I just love it hey, the competitiveness of it all,” she said. “The thrill of a win and the reward of seeing your hard work getting rewarded makes you come back for more and more and more. “I still ride every horse before the girls get on it when a new horse comes in, sometimes I think I still have it in me.” With the Geraldton Gold Cup and Abrolhos Plate just one meeting away, Martin is gearing up five-year-old mare Miff Muffered Moof to compete in the 2100m $125,000 race on April 6.