‘I wish I had more time with him’: James Moore follows legendary grandfather George Moore’s path as a trainer

James Moore will have his promising youngster The Sun Dance sport his famous grandfather’s silks at the Sunshine Coast on Sunday.

James Moore, grandson of legendary jockey George, is off to a flying start in his own training career in Queensland. Picture: Supplied

James Moore grew up wanting to be a jockey all his life like his legendary grandfather George and father Gary, but instead found himself playing basketball in England during his university days.

The next generation of one of Australia’s greatest racing families is now a trainer at the Sunshine Coast, with Moore, 33, saying he wish he could have spent more time with his grandfather, who is one of the most revered figures in the sport.

James Moore said he is carving his own name, despite his famous name, and has experienced the highs and the lows in the sport in a limited amount of time.

On Saturday, Moore will saddle up The Sun Dance in the QTIS 3YO Handicap (1300m), sporting his grandfather’s famous white and red silks as he looks to make his mark at metropolitan level.

“George passed away when I was about in year 10, I had a fair bit to do with him but looking back now, I wish I had more time with him,” Moore, who is also the nephew of legendary Hong Kong trainer John, said.

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“Especially now that I am an adult, it would have been good to learn a bit more off him, but I am lucky that (father) Gary has been around to pass down some stuff from George, and being a Group 1 winner himself.

“I wanted to be a jockey like George and dad early on but I was big enough to almost be a basketballer, I was playing semi professional basketball in the UK when I was at university.

“The horses were always number one, so I wanted to be a trainer so I was keen to go down that path.”

After taking out a trainers license in Macau, Moore’s career was at the crossroads in 2018 when he was banned after two positive cobalt swabs from his runners.

James Moore is looking to win at metro level with The Sun Dance. Picture: Patrick Woods

Moore had his ban reduced to a year after it was found to have happened while he was at the sales in Australia, with his assistant trainer found responsible, but he admits it changed the course of his career.

Following the reduced ban, Moore worked with his father, where they enjoyed a strong run of form in Sydney, before deciding to go out on his own when Gary made the move back to Asia.

Looking back, he believes the ordeal could have set him on a winning path, with Macau racing now closed down for good.

“Being that young, it was stressful, but dealing with these things from a young age you can take things in your stride a bit better,” he said.

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“I look back in hindsight now, and if it hadn’t of happened, I’d probably still be in Macau now and not the horseman I am today, I wouldn’t have been able to go to Japan and done what we did.

“The lights have gone off in Macau racing now, so I probably still would have been there and had nothing to go to, I wouldn’t have worked for anyone.

“I was working with Gary after that and we had plenty of good horses, I think we had the best metropolitan strike rate in NSW after the John Moore (partnership) era when the partnership fell apart.

“It looked like it was going to fall apart when dad only had eight horses after that, but then we went to a full barn and were airborne.”

The Sun Dance is a well supported $9.50 chance with TAB on Saturday.

Originally published as ‘I wish I had more time with him’: James Moore follows legendary grandfather George Moore’s path as a trainer