THE AMATEUR JOCKEYS ASSOCIATION OF GREAT BRITAIN
19-11-2018
John Dixon enjoyed a great start to Saturday’s card at Wetherby, getting off the mark for the season when partnering CAPTAIN ZEBO for his father to win the novice hurdle by 5 lengths on the horse’s debut run since being bought out of Gordon Elliott’s yard.
Well done John and congratulations to winning connections!
16-11-2018
Many congratulations to Sam Waley-Cohen who enjoyed a great front running performance from The Young Master trained by Neil Mulholland in the opener, the Markel Insurance Amateur Riders’ Handicap Chase, at Cheltenham today to win with ease and dent Station Master by 8 lengths.
Sadly the race was marred by the loss of Nigel Twiston-Davies’s Jameson who fell 2 out when travelling well under Zac Baker and a close challenging 2nd. Of the 11 runners, only 6 finished, with 3 falling at the second last.
Winning trainer Neil Mulholland said: “It was great. He had got the course form as he has been round here before, and the form of his last win had worked out well. He is a very genuine horse. He is still only 9 – people think he is a lot older, as he has been around a long time.
“He was very game and gutsy and seems to have come back to form. The nicer the ground, the better for him. We will leave him in the Ladbrokes Trophy (at Newbury on December 1) and speak to the owners and see how he is.” Well done and good luck to winning connections with future plans.
15-11-2018
A great day for Ben Jones today enjoying his 2nd career win to date and first winner for boss Philip Hobbs with Midnight Glory when successful in the AJA Hurdle.
Well done Ben!
Picture credits: AJA
12-11-2018
Calling all amateur jockeys! And that includes point-to-point jockeys!
Thanks to the support of Racing Welfare, the inspirational Dr George Wilson of Liverpool John Moore’s University is coming to Cheltenham Racecourse next Tuesday evening 20th November at 7 pm!
This is a golden opportunity for any jockey with weight and/or nutritional concerns to hear from an expert. Admission FREE! Highly recommended! Be there!
09-11-2018
NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF
THE AMATEUR JOCKEYS ASSOCIATION OF GREAT BRITAIN LIMITED
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the 2017 Annual General meeting of the AJA will be held on Monday 3 December 2018 at 12:00 noon at Premier Yew Lodge Hotel, Kegworth in the Laurent Perrier Suite when the following ordinary business will be considered:
Dated: 9 November 2018
By order of the board
08-11-2018
Congratulations on a great ride to victorious David Maxwell today when partnering his Ecu De La Noverie trained by Philip Hobbs in the Agetur novice hurdle over 2 miles at Newbury and winning by a short head in a photo finish, denying James Bowen!
An entertaining interview followed with Alex Steedman with David’s passion and enthusiasm for the sport in evidence. Many congratulations to him and to winning connections!👏👏👏👏👏
Posted by Sarah Oliver on Thursday, 8 November 2018
07-11-2018
Many congratulations to our 2018 Lady Flat Champion Amateur Jockey Becky Smith who stamped her authority on this year’s championship by concluding the season with another winning ride, emulating her male counterpart Simon Walker who did just that one week ago with the Gentleman’s Championship.
Partnering DEBATABLE for Mick Appleby, the partnership were always prominent and tracked Amie Waugh and MR CARBONATOR until ridden out to take up the lead a furlong from home. They went on to win by 1 1/2 lengths, with MR CARBONATOR 2nd and Emily Easterby 5 1/4 lengths 3rd on her father’s SILVERY MOON.
Emily Easterby, Betfair Novice Champion Jockey in 2016, has enjoyed her best season to date with 7 winners, pipping multiple Champion Jockey Serena Brotherton by one win. This was another remarkable achievement. Well done Emily!
To put into perspective the enormity of Becky’s triumph, there has never been a Lady Flat Amateur Champion before who has enjoyed so many wins in a season. Most championships have been won with 5 or 6 wins and Serena Brotherton came closest to Becky’s total with her best season of 10 wins in 2014. In addition, there has never been a Lady Flat Amateur Champion in the past who has simultaneously enjoyed pole position in the National Hunt league tables which was the case a few weeks ago. Becky currently lies in 2nd place to Aine O’Connor with most of the season ahead.
Many congratulations to our new Lady Champion and to our Runner-Up and well done to today’s winning connections. And of course congratulations to all of our lady riders who have enjoyed winners this season.
Picture credits: AJA
06-11-2018
06-11-2018
The penultimate ladies Flat race of the season held at Newbury on Saturday 28 October with 16 runners provided a dramatic result. A Stewards Enquiry was called after this season’s leading jumps lady Aine O’Connor was first past the post with Harry Fry’s PRESS GANG a short head in front of Brodie Hampson and Ian Williams’s WAR BRIGADE, which resulted in a photo finish. (Joanna Mason finished 2 1/4 lengths back in third with Hughie Morrison’s AFFAIR.)
The Stewards concluded their enquiry by reversing the placings, awarding the race to Brodie Hampson, having viewed Press Gang edge to his left under a right handed drive which carried War Brigade to the left. Unfortunately Aine was suspended for 2 days for careless riding and a shocked Harry Fry said “We’ve lost a few stewards’ enquiries now, so I thought one would go our way, but the longer it went on the more nervous I was getting.”
Nothing however should detract from the great achievement of the winning rider Brodie Hampson who has made a remarkable recovery back to full fitness following her horror fall at Newton Abbot at the end of June when she sustained multiple fractures to her spine and severe concussion. Many congratulations to Brodie and also to winning connections.
Brodie went on to prove she is back with a vengeance after enjoying another visit to the winner’s enclosure just 6 days later on Friday at Uttoxeter. Partnering KNIGHT CRUSADER for John O’Shea in the pro/am bumper over a mile and 7, Brodie held her horse up until half a mile from home when she began to drive her horse forward to lead a furlong out and win by 1 3/4 lengths.
Well done Brodie on a great ride!
06-11-2018
This Friday 9 November sees the finales of both the HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship (IFAHR) and also the HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Apprentices World Championship (IFAHR) in Abu Dhabi.
10 jockeys ride in each race as follows:
Ladies: Belgium’s Sara Vermeersch (winner in Stockholm), France’s Marie Lemartinel (winner in Morocco) and Mégane Peslier (winner in Toulouse), Germany’s Rebecca Danz (winner in St Moritz), Ireland’s Evanna McCutcheon (winner in Oman), Italy’s Ilaria Saggiomo Ilaria (winner in Netherlands), Morocco’s Zineb Briouil, Netherlands Nadia Ibrahim, Sweden’s Tina Henriksson (winner in Houston USA) and UK’s Antonia Peck.
Apprentices: Belgium’s Sanne De Ceulaer (winner in Seville) and Jurico Bogaerts (winner in Ostend), Germany’s Esther Weißmeier, Ireland’s Eoin Walsh (winner in Copenhagen), Oman’s Abdul Aziz Al Balushi (winner in Morocco), Poland’s Joanna Grzybowska, Russia’s Anna Makarova, Spain’s Alejandra Gutierrez Baeza (winner in Tarbes), Sweden’s Andreas Tapia Dalbark (winner in Oman) and UK’s Patrick Pilley.
Many thanks as always to Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival, Chairman of the International Federation of Horse Racing Academies (IFHRA) and Chairman of Ladies & Apprentice Racing Committees in the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR), and thanks also to our hosts in Abu Dhabi – Pat Buckley and Sam Shinsky – for their kind and generous support.
Good luck all!