John Tapp Racing

Mitchell Bell is one of several Sydney based jockeys who regularly ply their trade on outside tracks. His manager Shaun Flaherty makes a point of committing Mitch to race meetings no further than three hours from his Windsor home. The hard working jockey is a regular at places like Scone, Muswellbrook, Newcastle, Goulburn, Bathurst, Orange and Mudgee. Mitchell’s unwavering reliability has seen him build a strong support base among a wide range of trainers. The jockey says he’s learned to handle the tedium of constant travel. Mitchell talks about the two hip replacement surgeries he’s been forced to undergo in recent years.  He says he never knew his grandfather Billy Bell who was a successful Sydney jockey in the 60’s and 70’s. Mitchell pays tribute to his father Steve who had a jockey’s build but opted to pursue a career as a professional boxer- a career that led him to an Australian flyweight crown. Mitchell says his riding plans could have been thwarted when he was involved in a freak gymnasium accident at