Jockey

Records come, records go.

When you look at the Cheltenham Gold Cup history books, those heady days of Dorothy Paget and Basil Briscoe seem a very long time ago. Golden Miller won his first Gold Cup in 1932. In a handful of years, we will be pretty much be talking about 100 years ago. Literally a lifetime for man or beast.

I guess jockeys, those tough guys of National Hunt, who have mostly lost their teeth, don’t need to pay for a mudpack and have spent far too much time inside an ambulance, are the poor relation to the horse they ride.

For example, I know of Golden Miller, but couldn’t recall his winning jockeys: Ted Leader, Billy Stott, Gerry Wilson or Evan Williams. I had more chance of recalling his eccentric owner the Hon. Dorothy Paget.

Not to take anything away from jockeys.

It’s just the way of the world.

The Gold Cup is considered the true championship for staying chasers. This left-handed turf course over 3m 2f 70y. The race has seen many changes since its inauguration in 1924. In the last few decades its prominance has gathered pace.

We are talking blue ribbon.

Red Splash won the first race at odds of 5/1 for trainer Fred Withington for owner Major Humphey Wyndham and jockey Dick Rees.

The New Course (rather than the Old Course) started in 1959.

There have been far too many suprerstars horses to mention: Golden Miller, Arkle, to modern-day heros such as Dawn Run, Desert Orchid, Best Mate, Kauto Star, Denman, Al Boum Photo & Galopin Des Champs.

The last two titans are important to the context of this article and for the merit of not only trainer Willie Mullins but jockey Paul Townend. For he has the chance of breaking a longstanding record to become the leading jockey of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. In truth, he could well be odds-on to take the title at the cheltenham festival.

The record is held by Pat Taaffe (1964-68). It is particularly important because this record relates to the best chase horses in the history of racing. Because, three of those four wins came via Arkle (1964, 1965, 1966). In 1968, Taaffe won a fourth time on Fort Leney. Those successes came quick and fast.

In a similar fashion, it is fitting to consider Paul Townend. Until 2019, the Irishman from Lisgoold in County Cork could only imagine winning this coveted race. However, Al Boum Photo (2019,2020) and Galopin Des Champs (2023, 2024) have brought about a timely challenge to a record which is over 50-years old.

It is fitting that Galopin Des Champs, trained by Willie Mullins, in the ownership of Mrs Audrey Turley heads back to Cheltenham to retain his title for the third time in succession. This would mirror the great Arkle.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is scheduled for the 14^th March, at 4pm.

The record could well go to Townend as Galopin Des Champs is priced even money to retain his crown.

In this racing game, it doesn’t pays to count your chickens so I’m sure connections will only rejoice in their triumphs if/when they happen.

But for the Cheltenham crowd and all those Irish raiders, this year’s Boodle’s Gold Cup may have even more to offer for jockey and horse.

Good luck to all.

The short answer is yes, they do. Jockeys must maintain exemplary levels of strength and fitness while, at the same time, adhering to a strict dietary regime, which, in many cases, causes them to exist below their natural body weight. Nevertheless, for all the discipline involved, the fact remains that all jockeys ride many more losers than winners, regardless of whether they happen to be one of your acca tips or picks. If they were to rely on a percentage of prize money alone, their earnings would be, at best, wildly haphazard.

For example, Oisin Murphy, who was crowned champion jockey for the fourth time in six years in October 2024, won his title with a total of 163 winners from 754 rides, at a strike rate of 22%. Of course, Murphy is one of the fortunate few who are paid a handsome ‘retainer’ to ride for an individual trainer or owner on account of his impressive results, in his case Qatar Racing, which is owned by Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah al Thani. The vast majority of his weighing-room colleagues have no such luxury and, aside from prize money, are paid on a ‘piecework’ basis, at a fixed rate for each ride they take.

At the time of writing, all Flat jockeys receive £162.79 per ride, regardless of their status, while their National Hunt counterparts receive £221.28, in both cases subject to deductions for agent fees, union fees, inusrance and the like. Flat jockeys also receive approximately 7% of winning prize money, National Hunt jockeys receive approximately 9%, and both types of jockey approximately 4% of place prize money.

In short, the two female jockeys who have ridden 1,000 winners in Europe are Hayley Turner and Hollie Doyle. Turner became the first to do so, when, on November 21, 2023, when she rode 9/4 favourite Tradesman, trained by David Simcock, to comfortable, 1¾-length win in the Illuminate Christmas Ball Handicap, over two miles, at Chelmsford. The victory was fitting insofar that the winner was owned by Khalifa Dasmal, who also provided Turner with the first of her two Group 1 winners, Dream Ahead, also trained by Simcock, in the July Cup at Newmarket on July 9, 2011. Reflecting on reaching the career landmark, Turner, 41, said, “I’m chuffed and relieved. Although it’s taken me 20 years to do it, it will probably take the girls behind me half the time.”

She was nearly right, too, because Hollie Doyle brought up 1,000 career winners on Leyhaimur, coincidentally also trained by David Simcock, in a nursery handicap at Goodwood on September 3, 2024. That success came exactly 11 years, 3 months, 29 days after her first, on The Mongoose, trained by David Evans, in a lady amateur riders’ handicap at Salisbury on May 5, 2013. Doyle, 27, has been making headlines for most of her career and broke the record for the number of winners ridden by a female jockey three years running in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Currently with nine Group 1 winners to her name, she said, “Never when I started off my career did I imagine I would ride this many winners. Now all I can think about is the next thousand.”

Born in Newport, Isle of Wight on February 13, 1954, Paul Barton became apprenticed to David ‘Gandy’ Gandolfo at Down Stables in Wantage, Oxfordshire – where he would spend the whole of his 15-year riding career – and rode his first winner, Inigo Jones, at the now-defunct Folkestone on December 21, 1972.

Arguably the highest-profile victory of his career came in 1979, when he won the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow on Peter Scot, trained by Gandolfo, although he did win the Anthony Mildmay, Peter Cazalet Memorial Chase at Sandown Park two years later. In 1982, the partnership tackled the Grand National proper, but made it no further than Becher’s Brook on the first circuit.

In 1983, Barton replaced the injured John Francome on the 1982 winner, and favourite, Grittar, trained by Frank Gilman, but could only finish a remote fifth behind the history-making Corbiere, trained by Jenny Pitman. Indeed, Grittar aside, he completed the National Course just once more in eight rides, finishing ninth on Rathlek, also trained by Gandolfo, in 1981.

That year, Barton did win the Topham Chase, over the Grand National fences, on Mr. Malsbridge and the Mackeson Gold Cup (now the Paddy Power Gold Cup) at Cheltenham on Henry Kissinger, both of whom were trained by Gandolfo. Later in his career, he also won the Grand Annual Chase at the Cheltenham Festval on Reldis, trained by Gandolfo, in 1982, the Great Yorkshire Chase at Doncaster on Get Out Of Me Way, trained by Graham Thorner, in 1983 and the Maghull Novices’ Chase at Aintree on Pearlyman, trained by John Edwards, in 1986.

Barton enjoyed his most successful season, numerically, in 1977/78, when he rode 42 winners. At the time of his retirement, at the relatively early age off 33, in 1987, he had a total of 353 winners to his name.