Gavin Bedggood’s journey into racing began with a simple ambition, to become a jockey.

His first job was with Robbie Griffiths at Cranbourne, where Bedggood spent two years learning the racing game from the ground up.

There was just one problem, he was too heavy to ride.

Bedggood admitted he had never even ridden trackwork before joining Griffiths, but quickly realised his jockeying ambitions were going to be short-lived.

“I went in there and realised I was too heavy pretty quickly, I was probably on the same diet as Robbie,” Bedggood joked.

Rather than walking away from racing, Bedggood found another path, transferring into the jumps ranks and beginning a career as a jumps jockey.

For Bedggood, the key to becoming a successful jumps rider came down to two important qualities, race riding ability and an eye for a stride.

“Be able to ride a good race and being able to see a stride really well,” he said.

His biggest moment in the saddle came while riding for the late Robbie Laing, partnering Mazzacano to seven consecutive victories.

Those experiences ultimately helped shape Bedggood into the trainer he is today, although his passion for jumps racing has also given him concerns about its future in Victoria.

Bedggood believes the safety aspect of jumps racing has improved significantly, with fatalities falling, but says the structure of the Victorian jumping calendar and access to facilities presents a genuine challenge for the sport.

“The safety aspect has become really good, fatalities are down but I just think the way the calendar is set up now, trainers at Cranbourne are not able to access jumping trials and the traffic of horses now with the new gallops complex, it's hard to hold the jumping trials and trainers just don't bother now,” he said.

While his career has taken him away from the saddle and into the training ranks, Bedggood has remained disciplined when it comes to the size of his stable.

His preferred number is 45 horses in work. No more, no less.

“I tried doing 60 for a couple months last year but it didn't really work, not saying I wouldn't do it again but you need the right people and systems in place,” he said.

And among the horses to have passed through his stable, one stands above the rest.

Mornington Glory gave Bedggood the biggest moment of his training career when he won the Group 1 Moir Stakes in 2024.

Despite achieving the ultimate success, Bedggood admitted he initially struggled to believe he deserved to be there.

“I’d only be there for five or six years training and seen a lot of trainers not be able to get one, so I felt like I didn’t deserve it,” he said.

For a trainer still relatively early in his career, the Group 1 success was a remarkable achievement, and a fitting reward for someone whose path into the training ranks was anything but conventional.

What began with an apprentice jockey dream that quickly disappeared because of his weight has instead developed into a career spanning riding, jumps racing and ultimately Group 1 training success.

And Bedggood’s journey is far from finished.