Lost My Marbles
June 14th, 2019 | 
Author: It’s high time that I posted something a little bit jokey and different and I’m sure you’ll agree that this marble racing video ticks both boxes!
Racing and Betting News Recap
It’s been a dizzying few months of top quality horse racing of late, as is always the case at this time of year. In mid March we had the ever exciting Cheltenham Festival. This year we saw the performance of female jockeys go to another level, with Rachael Blackmore, Bryony Frost and Lizzie Kelly heralding in a golden era for women in the sport (with two grade one wins between them during the 2019 Cheltenham Festival!). The event saw some big odds winners too, so was definitely one for the speculative bettor.
Then of course we had the Grand National last weekend (6th April). This prestigious race watched around the world by hundreds of millions, (and this year drawing almost ten million viewers to ITV alone) saw Gordon Elliot’s Tiger Roll rack up back to back wins in the Grand National – the first horse to do so since Red Rum in 1974. It was quite something to see Davy Russell and co soaking in an win they themselves couldn’t seem to quite comprehend. Bookmakers are set to pay out an estimated £200 – £250 million as result of the victory, with Tiger Roll being one of the shortest priced winners for decades at 4-1.
In other sports news, gambling regulators have clamped down on a roulette-like virtual cycling games available in some betting shops, which was seen as a way of working around fixed odd betting terminal rules. The game offered by one betting shop chain, involved a cyclist racing around a velodrome, who then stops on one of 36 segmented areas (much like a roulette wheel). Customer could bet up to £500, whereas maximum bets on FOBT games was recently reduced to £2. Many casual punters are unhappy with such a dramatic restriction down to £2, and instead are switching to more open online betting environments, where websites welcome customers with generous bonuses and offers, as you see at the likes of Thumbsupbonus. High street betting shorts are increasingly outmoded in comparison, when numerous games such as bingo, poker and sports betting are only a mouse click away!
A final bit of racing news from Late February led me to wondering if bookmakers should start offering betting odds on who is going to win the latest racecourse brawl! A mass brawl, which was captured on film, broke out at Haydock Park between some 50 members of the public at the Saturday afternoon race meeting. Similar incidents happened at Ascot, Goodwood and Hexham in 2018. Haydock have declared a “zero tolerance position” in response tp the incident, though personally I’d say the chance of a repeat is around even money! Place your bets now please!
Richard Johnson on his Grand National Experiences
Credit: Betway
Few jockey’s can boast of a CV that matches that of Richard Johnson. Decades in the sport have ticked almost every box there is to tick, with one notable exception, The Aintree Grand National. In this video interview he details some of his many attempt to win the Grand National over the years (including a close 2nd place efforts on both What’s Up Boys in 2002 and Balthazar King in 2014) and hopes for his upcoming National ride on Rock the Kasbah. With efforts over the years ranging from disappointments to close calls, could 2019 finally be Richard Johnson’s year?
Female Jockeys at the Cheltenham Festival
The first female jockey to ride a winner at the Cheltenham Festival was Caroline Beasley, on Eliogarty, in the St. James’s Place Foxhunter Chase in 1983 and the following year Linda Sheedy rode, but failed to complete the course on, 500/1 outsider Foxbury in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Three years later, in 1987, Gee Armytage rode a double on The Ellier in the Kim Muir Challenge Cup and Gee-A in the Mildmay of Flete, but for many years afterwards winners ridden by female jockeys were few and far between.
It was pretty much left to Nina Carberry and Katie Walsh, both of whom have now retired, to keep the ball rolling and pave the way for the female jockeys that followed. Carberry eventually rode 6 winners at the Festival, a women’s record that stands to this day.
Fast forward to the 2018 Cheltenham Festival and the landscape has changed for women in racing. Taking inspiration from those who previously forged a path in racing, we saw four female jockeys claim victory during the Festival, Lizzie Kelly on Coo Star Sivola (Ultima Handicap Chase), Katie Walsh on Relegate (Champion Bumper), Bridget Andrews riding Mohaayed (County Hurdle) and Harriet Tucker on Pacha Du Polder (Foxhunter Challenge Cup). We may be reading too much into the betting odds to say that the general public still deem a female jockey winning as a flash in the pan – the latter three horses were 25-1 and above – but win they indeed did and this surely bodes well. It won’t have gone unnoticed by trainers and owners either, so opportunities for the best female jockeys will keep on coming.
The focus on females in sport has intensified further this year. For International Women’s Day, Sky Sports highlighted this fact by replacing all of the icons in their Sky Sport’s App with leading women in the corresponding sports. It was a nice touch. Will the surge in participation and excellence translate to results in this year’s Cheltenham Festival though?
Well, the participation factor is certainly accounted for, with the likes of Rachael Blackmore (on 83 wins this season and in the running for the Irish Jump Jockeys’ Championship), Lizzie Kelly and Bryony Frost all taking part.
Bryony Frost is in contention to become the first female jockey to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup aboard Frodon. She too has previous Cheltenham Festival pedigree, winning the St James’s Place Foxhunter Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase aboard Pacha Du Polder in 2017. Her stock has risen this year as result of her racing, positive attitude and ‘wise beyond her years’ interviews. Her talent knows no bounds, and the way in which she describes her love for racing, is almost poetic. “The rhythm and the stride when you connect: he relaxes, and the only thing in it is you and him. You just do what you need to do, feeling his breathing, feeling his stride, the whole world blocks out. To me there is no better place I can be in my life than when I’m with my horse.”
Devon Based Lizzie Kelly, who rides for her father Nick Williams has a multitude of chances to build on her 2018 Cheltenham Festival success. The 25 year old will be riding Coo Star Sivola in the Ultima Handicap Chase on Tuesday, then on Wednesday Tea for Two in the Cross Country Chase, followed by Fox Pro in the Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle in back to back races. She previously won the high profile Grade 1 Kauto Star Novices’ Chase on Tea For Two in 2015, could we be seeing a repeat here?
All of the elements are coming together for this to be another bumper year for female jockeys at the Cheltenham Festival.