Talking Horses: Irish rider and Yorkshire trainer John Quinn team up to seek another victory in the Epsom Amateurs’ DerbyJamie Codd and the Yorkshire trainer John Quinn are a formidable force when they team up – either over jumps or on the Flat. One of the highlights of this Bank Holiday Monday’s racing will be watching them try to win the Amateurs’ Derby at Epsom.It was in 2009 that Codd rode his first Cheltenham Festival winner, the Quinn-trained 16-1 shot Character Building in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Chase. That day the jockey displayed the ice-cool waiting tactics he has become famed for.Southwell 1.50 Rock In Society 2.25 Beechwood Izzy 3.00 Strong Power 3.35 Airglow 4.10 Blowing Dixie 4.45 Bangra...
The Yorkshire Oaks may prove a tactical affair with only four runners lining up and two from the Aidan O’Brien yardJohn Gosden is concerned about a potentially tactical race after only four runners were declared for the Yorkshire Oaks on Thursday, expected to be the final race in Britain for his star mare Enable. The five-year-old is long odds-on with bookmakers to land the prize on her way to Paris in October, where she will attempt to become the first horse to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for a third time.“The smaller the field, the stranger the race can often be,” said Gosden, who has provided one of Enable’s three rivals in Lah Ti Dar. The other two...
Remorex, a descendant of British racehorses, prevailed in the Palio di Siena on Friday, even though his rider fell off at halfwayFor reasons of equine welfare, I imagine that many of you will share my reservations about the Palio di Siena, the medieval race which is still held twice a year around that city’s main square. But I bring Friday’s race to your attention because of one extraordinary aspect, that it was won by a loose horse.Remorex is the horse in question, ridden for the first half of the race by Giovanni Atzeni, a cousin to Andrea, who we know well. Alas, they parted when ambitiously trying to take the edge off one of the corners. In fairness to Atzeni,...
Talking Horses Nick Rust has been unable to identify the source of his data, highlighting the need for care with statisticsNick Rust said a surprising thing last week, while commenting on the whip debate at a meeting of stable staff in Lambourn. “According to a survey recently, 98% of people under the age of 30 have never seen a horse in the flesh in Britain,” said the chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, who was trying to explain how he sees the context for our latest debate on whip use. Related: Earthlight raises 2,000 Guineas hopes with victory in Prix Morny Catterick2.00 Schumli 2.30 Good Night Mr Tom 3.00 Night Law 3.30 Ahorsewithnoname 4.00 Chaplin Bay 4.30 Hippeia 5.00 I’ll...
Racing professionals’ links to bookmakers have increased dramatically in the past three years but the BHA says it regularly monitors arrangementsThe number of trainers and jockeys signing up to links with betting firms has trebled in three years. A British Horseracing Authority register lists the names of 19 trainers and 24 jockeys as having commercial arrangements with bookmakers. The authority said on Thursday that in 2016 the register had six trainers and eight jockeys.Some of the links on the list are with long-established bookies, such as Frankie Dettori’s arrangement with Ladbrokes, Paul Nicholls’s with Betfair or Colin Tizzard’s stable with Coral, but most involve newer firms striving to build market share in the lucrative British and Irish betting markets. Flat...