Month: September 2009
25-09-2009
There’s no stopping Simon Walker this season and whilst he storms clear of his rivals on his way to taking this season’s Gentleman Amateur Jockeys Flat Championship he has taken no less than his fifth Bollinger Championship along the way!
The final race of this year’s series saw Simon take his fifth series with only John Ennis able to offer any threat. Not only would John have had to win the finale to deny Simon the series but also Simon would have had to finish unplaced.
The race resulted in Simon (riding for John Dunlop for the first time) finish 3rd behind winning jockey Mark Rimell with Joshua Moore in 2nd place and John unplaced.
The final table therefore sees Simon as Bollinger champion with John Ennis runner-up and Joshua Moore, last year’s series winner, in third place.
Very many congratulations to Simon, John and Joshua on a fantastic achievement and congratulations to all of the lads who rode winners in this year’s series.
And finally, a massive thank you to Simon Leschallas and Bollinger Champagne for their support over no less than 16 years and to Marcus Armytage and The Daily Telegraph for their coverage.
|
FINAL TABLE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NAME
|
1st (10 points)
|
2nd (6 points)
|
3rd (4 points)
|
4th (2 points)
|
TOTAL
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mr Simon Walker
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
42
|
|
Mr John Ennis
|
1
|
3
|
–
|
1
|
30
|
|
Mr Joshua Moore
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
28
|
|
Mr Ross Birkett
|
1
|
1
|
–
|
2
|
20
|
|
Mr Scott Dobson
|
1
|
1
|
–
|
2
|
20
|
|
Mr Phil Collington
|
1
|
1
|
–
|
–
|
16
|
|
Mr David Eustace
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
2
|
10
|
|
Mr Ben Morris
|
1
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
10
|
|
Mr Marcus Price
|
1
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
10
|
|
Mr Mark Rimell
|
1
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
10
|
|
Mr Sam Twiston-Davies
|
1
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
10
|
|
Mr Ashley Bird
|
–
|
–
|
2
|
–
|
8
|
|
Mr James Banks
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
–
|
6
|
|
Mr Chris Martin
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
–
|
6
|
|
Mr Ben Brisbourne
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
4
|
|
Mr Stephen Harrison
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
4
|
|
Mr Patrick Millman
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
4
|
|
Mr Oliver Murphy
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
4
|
|
Mr Gary Oliver
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
4
|
|
Mr Jack Quinlan
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
4
|
|
Mr Jack Sherwood
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
4
|
|
Mr Mark Walford
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
4
|
|
Mr Paul Norton
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
2
|
|
Mr Joshua Pearce
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
2
|
|
Mr Dale Swift
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
2
|
23-09-2009
With TOWCESTER already confirmed for a charity race on 5th November (in aid of Racing Welfare and the Injured Jockeys Fund), CHELTENHAM have now confirmed 15th November for a charity race in aid of Greatwood, the charity near Marlborough that cares for retired racehorses and children with special needs. Cheltenham places have filled rapidly and the race is full but two places remain available for Towcester.
Please hurry if you are interested in taking part and are prepared to raise at least £1,000. £250 must be lodged with the AJA before you can participate. Call now on 01886 884488 or e-mail sph.oliver@btinternet.com for further details.
22-09-2009
Stratford saw an unusual result in their 3 mile chase today when Robert Henderson, having only the 10th ride of his fledgling career under Rules, steered Ellerslie George to victory giving him his first career win on the racecourse with his strong and positive ride against professionals. Congratulations to Robert!
Meanwhile on the Flat, whilst Simon Walker maintains his unassailable lead for the gentlemen, the ladies amateur championship is producing a gripping finale to the season with Pip Tutty and Victoria Barr riding Beverley winners, which puts Victoria on 3 wins alongside Wendy Gibson in the runner-up slot with Serena Brotherton maintaining her lead on 4.
21-09-2009
Many of us have hair-raising experiences in the saddle but few would live up to Justin Morgan’s when he took stickability to a new level after his saddle slipped during the final leg of a 3 mile handicap hurdle at Exeter on 15th April 2003. He managed to stay aboard the now bareback Richard Gad-owned BIG QUICK – riding the last fence rodeo-style to clinch a first win for rider, owner and horse.
Justin stylishly flew over the penultimate fence in a leapfrog position with both feet above the withers of his mount. On landing, his saddle disappeared from underneath him and a side-door exit seemed inevitable but he was pushed back into place by Big Quick’s off-foreleg.Initially cruising 6 lengths clear of the field, the duo were able to maintain their lead minus the saddle and sailed past the post 2 lengths clear. Fortunately for Justin, he was riding without a weight cloth. Had he been using one and it had fallen from under the saddle, obviously he would have lost the race.
Although Justin admitted he was “singing the soprano” after an uncomfortable bounce home, the ride that broke his duck was a “tear-jerking moment” for more reasons than one. He continued as an amateur for several years including being Great Britain’s Fegentri representative in 2005 before retiring from the saddle in 2007.
20-09-2009
Victorious in Duindigt in The Netherlands today, winning by a short head, is a fantastic result for Great Britain’s CLAIRE ALLEN as these vital 20 points awarded put her (with 123 points) only 8 points behind the current leader in the Fegentri Ladies World Championship, Germany’s Nadine Gratz (131 points). Many congratulations to Claire! This is a real achievement, particularly as Claire had to get herself fit to pass a concussion test after a particularly nasty fall point-to-pointing at Maisemore Park earlier in the season and also missed a trip to Norway in July having picked up a ban in Italy.
The nearest rivals for the title are Norway’s Cathrine Engebretse (97 points) and Switzerland’s Catherine Burri (95 points).
The final two ladies Fegentri races of the season will be run in Mauritius on 6th December where the new Fegentri Ladies World Champion will be crowned. Great Britain has never won the Ladies title in Fegentri’s entire history, although only last year Gemma Gracey-Davison was a gallant runner-up. Today’s win was Claire’s third Flat win of her career having been successful recently in Norway and France, and we are all wishing her well for some good rides in Mauritius.
Meanwhile, Great Britain’s IAN CHANIN is also doing well representing his nation for the gentlemen and is not without a chance of taking the Men’s Fegentri World Championship. This is a great achievement as Ian broke a bone in his foot in July which stopped him riding in Dieppe and also missed out on riding in Spain early in the season with no ride available. Ian has recently returned from a busy trip to the USA where he finished 2nd and 4th.
The men have four race dates remaining for the season: Italy (Merano) 27th September, Switzerland (Maienfeld) 11th October, Sweden (Taby) 18th October and Germany (Baden-Baden) 23rd October.
Ian currently lies 4th in the championship tables on 68 points with Andrew Doyle of Ireland 3rd with 83 points, France’s Florent Guy 2nd with 103 points and Germany’s Marian Weissmeier currently leading with 122 points.
For more information on Fegentri please visit their website via the link shown on this site.
20-09-2009
With only a handful of amateur Flat races left before the season comes to an end, how brilliant to see so many declarations for Beverley on Tuesday that the amateur race has been divided, giving us an extra race to help determine our amateur champions.
Current leaders are familiar names being past champions: SIMON WALKER on 8 winners for the men and SERENA BROTHERTON on 4 winners for the ladies. This is no mean feat for either jockey with Simon having won 5 Flat Amateur Championships out of the last 6 seasons, and Serena having won concurrently in 2005 and 2006. Simon is 5 clear of his nearest rival, Marcus Price, and nothing short of a miracle will rob him of a sixth amateur Flat championship – an amazing achievement.
Current rankings as at 20th September:
|
Mr Simon Walker
|
8
|
|
Mr Marcus Price
|
3
|
|
Mr Ross Birkett
|
2
|
|
Mr John Ennis
|
2
|
|
Miss Serena Brotherton
|
4
|
|
Miss Wendy Gibson
|
3
|
|
Miss Gina Andrews
|
2
|
|
Miss Victoria Barr
|
2
|
|
Mrs Carol Bartley
|
2
|
|
Miss Katie Cooper
|
2
|
|
Miss Lorraine Ellison
|
2
|
|
Mrs Victoria Fahey
|
2
|
After 2 races at Beverley on Tuesday, there are only 3 gentlemen’s races left: Ascot 25th September, Nottingham 30th September and a new addition to the calendar: Leicester 26th October. In addition, 4 mixed races remain in the calendar (Warwick 29th September, Catterick 6th October, Newcastle 13th October & Musselburgh 28th October) which could add interest to the final results, together with 3 ladies’ races (Redcar 15th October, Newbury 24th October and Nottingham 28th October).
Serena has the threat of Wendy Gibson (currently only 1 win behind her) who makes a welcome return from injury on Tuesday with a ride in each of the two divisions. And don’t overlook the names of 2 past champions currently on 2 winners apiece – Carol Bartley (2001, 2002 & 2003) and Lorraine Ellison (2007)! There will be plenty of interest within the ladies ranks for some weeks to come!
20-09-2009
BOLLINGER are our longest standing sponsors of any amateur riders’ series in Great Britain today and we are indebted to them for their fantastic support with no less than twelve races for gentlemen on the Flat this summer. Bollinger supply the series winning rider and runner-up with Bollinger champagne as well as providing the winning rider of each individual race with a magnum and so it is not surprising that these races create so much interest within our ranks. This series never fails to provide a story and undoubtedly contributes a huge amount to the finesse of our gentlemen riders in the racetrack.
The final race of this year’s Bollinger Series, the sixteenth in its history, will (once again) feature reigning Bollinger champion SIMON WALKER (currently leading on 38 points) who has to finish in front of current runner-up JOHN ENNIS (30 points) to take the fourth Bollinger title of his prolific winning career.
This Friday 25th September will see the final showdown at Ascot with the possibility of the runner-up slot being taken by last year’s series winner JOSHUA MOORE (22 points), but only if he should ride the winner.
Simon has previously won the Bollinger title three year in succession (2003, 2004 and 2005) before being deposed by this weekend’s Ayr William Hill Bronze and Silver Cup supremo Barry McHugh in 2006, Scottish Grand National winning jockey Charlie Huxley in 2007 and last year Joshua Moore.
To avoid a jockey in contention for the title being balloted out, only those amateur jockeys who have ridden in one (or more) of the races within the current series are permitted to ride in the finale. The current table is as follows:
|
Results up to Sunday 20th September
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NAME
|
1st (10 points)
|
2nd (6 points)
|
3rd (4 points)
|
4th (2 points)
|
TOTAL
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mr Simon Walker
|
3
|
1
|
–
|
1
|
38
|
|
Mr John Ennis
|
1
|
3
|
–
|
1
|
30
|
|
Mr Joshua Moore
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
22
|
|
Mr Ross Birkett
|
1
|
1
|
–
|
2
|
20
|
|
Mr Scott Dobson
|
1
|
1
|
–
|
2
|
20
|
|
Mr Phil Collington
|
1
|
1
|
–
|
–
|
16
|
|
Mr Ben Morris
|
1
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
10
|
|
Mr Marcus Price
|
1
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
10
|
|
Mr Sam Twiston-Davies
|
1
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
10
|
|
Mr Ashley Bird
|
–
|
–
|
2
|
–
|
8
|
|
Mr David Eustace
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
1
|
8
|
|
Mr James Banks
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
–
|
6
|
|
Mr Chris Martin
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
–
|
6
|
|
Mr Ben Brisbourne
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
4
|
|
Mr Stephen Harrison
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
4
|
|
Mr Patrick Millman
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
4
|
|
Mr Oliver Murphy
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
4
|
|
Mr Gary Oliver
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
4
|
|
Mr Jack Quinlan
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
4
|
|
Mr Jack Sherwood
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
4
|
|
Mr Mark Walford
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
4
|
|
Mr Paul Norton
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
2
|
|
Mr Joshua Pearce
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
2
|
|
Mr Dale Swift
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
2
|
08-09-2009
Reigning ladies amateur NH champion Lucy Horner had to be airlifted to hospital this afternoon after a pile-up at Sedgefield when five horses came down at the first in the juvenile hurdle. The other four jockeys escaped unhurt but Lucy, riding RAVATI for Chris Grant, was knocked briefly unconscious and suffered facial injuries as well as a dislocated shoulder (which went straight back in) as a result of which the air ambulance was called.
Paddy Aspell was shaken up from his fall in the same race and was stood down for the remainder of the day. Racing was delayed on the course for 35 minutes whilst Lucy was attended to.
Clerk of the Course Charlie Moore said “Lucy was conscious when she left the racecourse but she was suffering from facial injuries.” Lucy was taken to James Cook Hospital in Middesbrough from where she was allowed home later in the day. Lucy has a fractured cheek bone and severe bruising following a kick in the face which smashed her goggles which in turn also caused lacerations. We all wish Lucy a swift recovery!
Only 5 of the 12 starters completed the course.
07-09-2009
Racing is finding it hard to come to terms with the tragic loss of two promising young jockeys who lost their lives when a fire ripped through their flat in a suspected arson attack in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Talented apprentices Jamie Kyne aged 18 and 19-year-old Jan Wilson, who began her career as an amateur, lost their lives in the blaze in Norton near Malton, North Yorkshire. They were both looking forward to riding the next day at York and Thirsk respectively, where Jan was to have ridden her mother Margaret’s IMPERIAL SWORD who has given her three wins already this season.
Jan attended The British Racing School having set her heart on becoming a jockey from an early age. She enjoyed her first ride under Rules at Goodwood last year and was known to many amateur jockeys, having ridden in several amateur races on the Flat last season. She was so dedicated to progressing her career that she even rode in an AJA charity race at Newcastle in October in aid of Spinal Injuries to gain more experience before taking out her apprentice’s licence.
Jan was attached to David Barron, who said that she loved her job so much that she never mentioned taking time off because she hated the thought of missing a work morning. He added that Jan was a very good rider but it was only recently that he had noticed her transformation to that of a jockey, especially when she won on Imperial Sword at Ayr last month. She had tremendous potential and everything was coming together for her.
Jamie was attached to John Quinn and his career was blossoming this season with 29 victories. He enjoyed his biggest victory when Allan Dickman’s Ishetoo won the sportingbet.com Sprint at York in May. Jamie began his career with Declan Carroll who provided him with his first winner in December 2007. A future star in the making, Jamie was currently third in this season’s apprentice championship.
Racecourses staged a period of silence in remembrance over the weekend fixtures whilst jockeys wore black armbands. The Amateur Jockeys Association would like to express their deep sorrow at this time and send their sincere condolences to the families and friends of Jan and Jamie.
04-09-2009
The rewritten and reformatted Rule Book will come into effect on Monday 7th September 2009. The new Rules of Racing are more user friendly and bring the relevant Rules together under six separate Manuals:
A. General Manual
B. Race Manual
C. Trainer Manual
D. Rider Manual
E. Horse and Owner Manual
F. Racing Administration Manual
Whilst the Rules might be worded and arranged differently, the actual meaning and application of the individual Rules has not changed. The new Rules of Racing can be found at:
http://newrules.britishhorseracing.com
A revised and updated Guidelines to Penalties and Procedures Booklet can be found at:
http://www.britishhorseracing.com/inside_horseracing/pdf/guide_to_procedures_2009.pdf
A leaflet explaining the new Rules of Racing can be found at:
http://www.britishhorseracing.com/resources/media/RulesLeaflet.pdf
All racecourses, trainers, jockeys and media will be sent an updated Guidelines to Penalties and Procedures Booklet. All racecourses will also be issued with a new copy of the Rules of Racing and an additional copy for the Stewards Room. Most trainers should find that the Guidelines to Penalties and Procedures booklet and the Rule Book website suffice. However, any trainer who wishes to have a hard copy of the Rules of Racing can request one by emailing rules@britishhorseracing.com
All of the Manuals and the Guidelines to Penalties and Procedures are available to download from the website.
