Jockey landed the most valuable success of her career in her first campaign as a fully-fledged professionalSaffie Osborne, who is in her first season as a fully-fledged professional having ridden out her claim in November, landed the most valuable success of her career at Chester on Friday as Metier stayed on strongly from the top of the straight to beat Zoffee by a neck in the Tote Chester Cup.Harry Fry’s gelding had a disappointing time over hurdles over the winter, when he was pulled up on both his starts, but bounced back to the form that had seen horse and rider take last season’s November Handicap at Doncaster off an 8lb lower mark. The first prize of £76,000 was just...
Departure of senior Professional Jockeys Association figures could leave riders at all levels without strong representation“Every ride, every jump, every battle, every fall, every day,” reads the main banner headline on the Professional Jockeys Association’s website. “We’re right here beside you.” But if the exodus of senior figures in the PJA continues at its current pace, there will soon be no one left to represent and advocate for the 450 or so men and women who, on a daily basis, accept the considerable risks attached to riding a half-ton thoroughbred at 30mph or more.Jon Holmes, a leading sports agent whose clients include Gary Lineker, resigned as the PJA’s chairman last week, two-and-a-half years after replacing the industry veteran Nigel Payne...
The selection’s defeat of Royal Scotsman in the Dewhurst in October is as strong as any form on offer for the first ClassicIf nothing else, the fact that the normally ultra-cautious Aidan O’Brien was happy to discuss Auguste Rodin as a potential Triple Crown prospect earlier this week suggests that the son of Deep Impact is his No 1 contender for next month’s Derby at Epsom by some distance.Whether he has the speed to beat the specialist milers in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on Saturday, however, is another question entirely, as O’Brien also acknowledged. Continue reading...
Affordability checks will hit revenues but there is a world of difference between online slot machines and sports bettingA couple of hours after the government’s White Paper on gambling reform was finally published last week, Julie Harrington, the British Horseracing Authority’s chief executive, was asked whether the proposed legislation took into account the fundamental difference between betting – on racing and other sports – and gaming, on fixed-margin casino products.“There is some good language in there, accepting that there is a difference between sport and evidence of faster losses on those casino-based games,” Harrington said. “I think on a more detailed reading, you’ll see that it may not be the headlines, but the language below really does differentiate that, so...
The selection attempts to become only the second horse to follow up a Scottish Grand National victory at SandownKitty’s Light would be a hugely popular winner of the Bet365 Gold Cup on Jumps Finale day at Sandown on Saturday, and Christian Williams, his trainer, believes the seven-year-old has the right attitude and constitution to follow up his success in the Scottish Grand National last weekend.“He’s freakish for a horse,” Williams said this week. “The way he comes out of his races, you’ll never have seen anything like it. Basically, you could nearly run him in the next race as he recovers so quickly, so there’s something inside him. I’m not sure if he’s got big lungs or a big heart...