Young Tamworth apprentice Tim Bell won't be rushed into moving to the big smoke in either Sydney or Brisbane in the near future despite scoring a memorable victory at his first Queensland ride aboard Lifeboat at Doomben.Bell, 16, showed initiative to lead all the way on the Quirindi-trained six-year-old who held off the fast-finishing Ulladulla to score by a half-neck in Saturday's John Barber Memorial Handicap (1200m).It was Bell's 74th win in a career which began only 12 months ago when he got

Young Tamworth apprentice Tim Bell won't be rushed into moving to the big smoke in either Sydney or Brisbane in the near future despite scoring a memorable victory at his first Queensland ride aboard Lifeboat at Doomben.

Bell, 16, showed initiative to lead all the way on the Quirindi-trained six-year-old who held off the fast-finishing Ulladulla to score by a half-neck in Saturday's John Barber Memorial Handicap (1200m).

It was Bell's 74th win in a career which began only 12 months ago when he got his riding licence while still attending high school.

"I thought I would sit off the pace on him but he went too keen early so I took him to the front," Bell said.

"I didn't see any point holding him back so I let him stride."

Born in Narrabri, Bell got the urge to become a jockey from his uncle Adrian Garraway who was a successful jumps rider in Melbourne.

"I've always loved the lifestyle of being a jockey since I was a little tacker," Bell said.

"It's a great thrill to win a race in Queensland with my first ride.

"It gets the monkey off my back for when I came back next time."

Bell, who likes to model himself on leading Sydney jockeys Hugh Bowman and Corey Brown, has already made an impact in Sydney with three metropolitan wins.

"I've had three winners in Sydney, one at Warwick Farm and two at Rosehill and two of them were for my boss, Sue Grills," he said.

Bell dedicated his first Brisbane win to the Tamworth trainer.

"All credit goes to her for my success," Bell said.

"She's put me on basically everything she can and I owe her a lot."

Bell, who gave up playing rugby league at school because of his size, also praised former champion jockey Malcolm Johnston for guiding his career in the right direction.

"Malcolm works for Racing NSW and teaches all the apprentices in our area back home," he said.

"He's been a great help and has given me some good advice.

"At school I was a little halfback playing league but the other boys were too big for me so I stayed away from them in games."

Bell has no plans to move from riding in country NSW despite receiving some unofficial offers from two Sydney trainers.

"I've had a couple of offers to ride in Sydney but I prefer to continue riding in the country for the next two years," he said.