Taylor Ratten fulfills dream as strapper for winning Doomben horse

From working at the Gympie Race Track to strapping a Group 1 winner at Doomben at the weekend, former James Nash student Taylor Ratten has achieved her lifelong dream. Read her story here.

Gympie woman Taylor Ratten is living the dream strapping horses for Snowden Racing in the big city.

Ratten, 28, has strapped three year-old bay colt Mazu, affectionately known as MooMoo, in all five of his winning races, including the Group 1 Doomben 10,000 on Saturday, May 14, in Brisbane.

“It was a surreal experience on Saturday winning a Group 1,” Ratten said on Wednesday.

She has also been assigned as strapper to Mazu’s up-and-coming stablemates Paris Dior and Revolutionary Miss.

From an early age, Ratten wanted to work in the horse racing industry.

Her father was a jockey, and her mother has been horse walking with her daughter by her side since Ratten was young.

She moved to Gympie at 10 years-of-age. Trainer Kerry Munce, Ratten’s grandfather, taught her the basics as she worked at his stables at the Gympie Turf Club.

“When you grow up in racing, it just sticks with you; it’s in your blood and you can’t seem to get away from it,” she said.

She completed a Certificate II with Queensland Racing during her senior years at James Nash State High School.

Ratten also worked with trainer Barry Gill before moving to the Sunshine Coast in 2019, where she worked with Kendricks Racing Stables for three years.

She then commenced work for Snowden Racing in Sydney in January 2022.

Ratten said on Wednesday she enjoyed the fast-paced work with trainer Peter and Paul Snowden at Snowden Racing, and felt welcomed by the staff after moving away from her close-knit family in Queensland.