UK Horse Racing Tips

Archive for the ‘Jockeys / Horses’ Category

Lanfranco “Frankie” Dettori rode his first winner in Britain in 1987 and, for much of his career, was synonymous with the royal blue silks of the Godolphin organisation, founded by Sheikh Mohammed in 1994. Indeed, on an extraordinary afternoon at Ascot in 1996 Godolphin contributed the majority of his so-called “Magnificent Seven”, when he rode the winner of each of the seven races on the card.

However, the popular Italian was demoted in the Godolphin pecking order in 2012, finally severing all ties with the organisation to become freelance and subsequently served a six-month ban after testing positive for cocaine. On his return to race riding, a frustrating lack of rides led Dettori to seriously consider retirement at the end of the 2013 season.

Thankfully, he was rescued from the doldrums by Sheikh Joaan al Thani, the co-founder of Al Shaqab Racing, who appointed him as retained jockey. Dettori finished a forgettable season with just 16 winners – his lowest total for 25 years – but, the following year, renewed his association with former champion trainer John Gosden, who’d supported him many years before.

Fast forward to 2017 and Dettori rode a highly respectable 63 winners from 237 rides in Britain, at a strike rate of 25%, for a level stakes profit of 45.55 points. He also became the first jockey to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe five times, on the superstar filly Enable – fittingly trained by John Gosden – who was recording her fifth Group One victory of the season.

Dettori has been crowned champion Flat jockey three times and while, at the age of 47, he is unlikely to scale those heights again, 30 years, 15,000 races and 3,000-odd winners since he joined Luca Cumani as an apprentice, we haven’t seen the last of his famous flying dismount.

Richard Johnson has won the the Stobart Jump Jockeys Championship for the last two years and, with 135 winners already this season – 23 ahead of his nearest rival, Harry Skelton – is well on his way to collect his third successive title. Johnson won the Conditional Jump Jockeys Championship in 1995/96 but, for the next 19 years it was a question of “always a bridesmaid, never a bride” for the Hereford-born jockey.

Unfortunately, his career coincided with that of a certain Anthony Peter “A.P.” McCoy – now, of course, Sir Anthony – who is the only jockey in the history of National Hunt racing to ride over 4,000 winners and was Champion Jockey every season from 1995/96 until his retirement at the end of 2014/15 season. During that period, Johnson finished runner up in the Jump Jockeys’ Championship no fewer than 16 times.

Nevertheless, Johnson, 40, speaks highly of the former champion, without whom he would almost certainly be talked about as the greatest jockey in the history of National Hunt racing. He has admitted, however, that McCoy was a thorn in his side for a long time and, with all due respect, expressed his delight at his former arch-rival’s absence from the weighing room.

Johnson rode his 3,000th winner at Ludlow in January, 2016 and, at the time of writing, has a career total of 3,363 winners. That figure is still some way short of McCoy’s record total of 4,348 winners, but streets clear of the likes of Richard Dunwoody, John Francome and Peter Scudamore, who won the Jump Jockeys Championship between them. Of course, “Dicky”, as Johnson is popularly known, is still riding as well as ever, with the same level of commitment he’s shown over the last two decades, so he’s likely to be Champion Jockey a few more times before he finally hangs up his boots.

With many of the season’s big races come and gone, the contest to be Champion Jockey has become a one-horse race, with Silvestre de Sousa streets head of his rivals.

The Brazilian already has 142 winners to his name – 10 more than when he scooped the top prize back in 2015 – with many more rides before the end of the season.

The 36-year-old played down his chances of regaining the title from Jim Crowley at the start of proceedings but has an excellent strike rate of 21.42%.

He is in red-hot form at present, with 11 wins from 32 outings in the week to August 6 including three at Glorious Goodwood, and has also been kind to those who like to bet each-way, with a 42.38 place percentage.

For those who like a flutter on the races, Bonus Code has all the top offers available at online bookmakers.

Luke Morris has to be applauded for his work rate, with an incredible 860 runs this term and 111 winners.

It is due to the volume of work he gets through that he is second on the list of winners as he has a strike rate of just 12.91%.

Joe Fanning has ridden 98 winners with a win percentage of 17.92 but has a battle on his hands to take third place, with Adam Kirby sitting on 94 winners and Crowley on 92.

Ryan Moore has been Champion Jockey on three occasions but will not make it four this year and he is in sixth place at present.

However his win percentage of 23.18 is way ahead of any other jockey who races regularly in the UK.

Frankie Dettori is slightly ahead in that category but the Italian legend has only raced 161 times to Moore’s 358.

It is not just about the number of wins but the quality of races involved and Moore has guided Winter to glory in the Group One Nassau Stakes while partnering Churchill to success in both the 2000 Guineas and Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh.

He was on board Highland Reel to claim the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot and on the same animal when taking Epsom’s Coronation Cup and is clearly someone who can handle the pressure.

Dettori only has 38 winners but those include a couple of Group One victories with the superb Enable.

The filly won both the Oaks and Royal Ascot’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes while he also guided Lancelot Du Lac to glory in the Qatar Stewards’ Cup Handicap at Goodwood.

Crowley won 148 races in the 2016 campaign and will not match that number this year but he also has some top-class wins on his CV.

The Englishman rode Ulysses to victory in the Eclipse Stakes, beating Barney Roy in the process, while he tasted further Group One success with Here Comes When in Goodwood’s Sussex Stakes.

William Buick has been in the winner’s circle 66 times from 308 attempts and continues to have success in the biggest races, guiding Ribchester to Group One success in both the Queen Anne Stakes and Lockinge Stakes while he lost out by a neck on board the same horse in the Sussex Stakes.

Mention must also go to Italian Andrea Atzeni who has an excellent success rate of 21.19% and took the Goodwood Cup with Stradivarius.

Introduction

As one of the most revered names in racing history, Sir Anthony Peter McCoy – AP, or Tony, to most – is a true legend of the sport. With over 4,300 winners – a record – and Champion Jockey twenty times in a row, McCoy is one of the most legendary competitors to ever hop onto the saddle. Many online and betting shop punters made a pretty penny when lumping on horses ridden by McCoy.

Having rode his first winner at 17, he went from there to win his first Champion Jockey in the 95/96 season, culminating in continuous success and defence until his final year where he won it, in 2015.

Career Summary

With too many to list, the main statement to make about McCoy is that he’s just won about every big race that there is to win. From the Cheltenham Gold Cup to the Queen Mother Champion Chase, McCoy has been a serial trophy winner in one of the most stellar and important careers in the history of the sport.

He’s even won the coveted BBC Sports Personality of the Year, lifting it in 2010 and in the process becoming the first jockey to lift the award. In January 2016, McCoy was finally knighted to culminate a career that is all about success and impressive wins.

There’s literally too many outstanding races to pick from in one of the most collective showings of the hard work and the rewards that can come from being a jockey.

Achievements & Highlights

Wins – Grand National, Scottish Grand National, Cheltenham Gold Cup, Queen Mother Champion Chase, Champion Hurdle, King George VI Chase, Ryanair Chase, RSA Chase, Fighting Fifth Hurdle, Tingle Creek, Arkle Challenge Trophy, Welsh Grand National, Midlands Grand National, Irish Grand National, Lexus Chase, Galway Plate. Champion Jockey 95/96 – 14/15.

Associations – Mountain Tunes, Kanpai, Magical Bailiwick, Celtic Native, Majadou.

Earnings – £15m+