Another Month In Brisbane As Bell Ponders Future

Timothy Bell

Jockey Timothy Bell will spend more time in Brisbane before deciding on future move

Timothy Bell has been one of the most talked about jockey of late with plenty of rumours flying around about where he may end up in 2012.

The only thing which had been made clear is that while he massively enjoyed his time riding for Sue Grills, he felt he was ready to move on to a fulltime position at a metropolitan based stable.

At first it appeared Sydney was going to be the destination with plenty of offers coming from that part of the world, however it’s no longer a sure thing.

He’s expressed a big interest to ride in Melbourne given it’s home to the biggest races and the biggest carnivals but he admits himself it is a tough market to crack.

At first Brisbane seemed to be a long shot however after a very successful stony during the Brisbane Winter Carnival, Bell has decided he might stick around a little bit longer.

“I was happy just to have a bit of a look but I’ve transferred over for a month now to Kelly Schweida,” Bell said.

While it’s by no means a permanent move at this stage, it has levelled the playing field for the future of one of Australia’s best performing apprentices.

“I haven’t made my mind up where I want to be whether it be Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne,” he said.

It’s no doubt a very hard decision for a young guy to make, especially given the mountain of advice he’s receiving form so many different people.

As a result he’s keeping it simple at the moment and not locking himself into anything long term.

“When I started off people said to me don’t change anything that’s working,” he said.

“It was a quick decision that I had to make.”

Like a lot of top class jockey’s though you get the feeling that it’s only a matter of time before Bell ends up riding out of the Victorian capital.

“I’d always love to go to Melbourne,  it is the racing capital of Australia,” he said.

The patience he’s shown in the face of so much pressure is a credit to himself  and it’s clear to see how much drive he has to succeed.

“I’ll have to do what suits me best, I need a trainer to take me to that next level,” he said.

One of the major drawbacks of leaving the Grills team is losing his affiliation with her top runner Border Rebel.

It’s a partnership that has brought on so much success and it’ll no doubt be an eerie feeling for him when Border rebel steps out for his next start without him.

For the record it will be Tim Clark who takes over from Bell for Border Rebel’s next assignment.

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