The Winning Post
The winning post
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Contents contents
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Editorial
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Cheltenham Review
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Ups and downs of a young jockey
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beating the bookies
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aintree
pages 10 and 11
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Editorial writing we are preparing for ‘The greatest show on turf’ at Cheltenham made extra special by the last hurrah of retiring champion jockey AP McCoy.
By Ethan Barsdell
There will be plenty of superstars on show with the likes of Faugheen, Silviniaco Conti and crowd favourite Bob’s Worth to provide punters with value and a charge to roar on up the testing hill.
As if that isn’t enough us lucky fans also get a feast or jump racing at Aintree in the have always had huge following weeks, with interest in sport, arguably the most predominantly boxing and prestigious race in world; football, but horse The Grand National. racing takes a large portion of my heart. From Even those who don’t bat an watching my first race and eyelash 364 other days of placing my first bet on Pour the year will take a keen Moi in the derby, t0standing interest in who is leading yards from Sir Henry Cecil over Beecher’s Brook on the as Frankel stormed to final circuit, as they double victory in his last ever race check who it was they at Ascot, my actually drew in the appreciation for both sweepstakes jockey and horse has flourished. Fingers crossed that both horse and jockeys make it Combine that with the through these amazing events undertaking of a unharmed, I know for one that journalism course and the I’ll be applauding them in win idea of producing an equine or lose based magazine becomes clear. At the time of
I
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the greatest T
here was as much hype as there was intigue sourrounding the opening day at Cheltenham this year, mainly centring around trainer Willie Mullins and his team of Irish stars. The questions were soon answered much to the dismay of bookmakers up and down the country, and to the delight of punters, as his horses and stable jockey Ruby Walsh stole the show. The Supreme novices’ hurdle was first up, with mullins charge douvan heading the market. as the clock struck 1.30 the starter released the tape and we were underway with this years festival, the famous ‘cheltenham roar’ echoed out from those in the grandstand. douvan broke free to power home to take the first win for the Mullins/walsh duo.Shaneshill made it in for second, another horse trained by the irishman. The pair made it a quickfire double as the classy un de sceaux was simply too good for the rest of the field, making all of the running to scamper away from God’s own over the final fence to victory. With two mullins favourites having won already, the bookmakers were starting to fear the worst. There was to be a slight reprieve as The Druids Nephew took the 2.40. The 8/1 shot in a big field travelled fluently throughout and cantered up the Cheltenham under Barry Geraghty to take the spoils. The hammering soon continued however as Mullins and Walsh combined yet again to take the Champion hurdle with odds on shot Faugheen Three out of three now for Mullins and the fourth was to be the best yet. annie power was looking to follow in the footsteps of six time winner quevega in the mares hurdle. the mare was considered the ‘sure thing’ of the day and bookies obviously agreed, making her 4/7
Peace & Co trained by Nicky Henderson (Green cap) gets up late day on to win. pinging over the penultimate fence with the race at her mercy, tears were shed as she came crashing down over the final fence. many of those were from bookmakers granted, but euqally from punters who had placed her in accumalators. David Williams, a spokesman for Ladbrokes described it as “the most expensive fall in national hunt history.” Stable mate Glen’s Melody took full advantage of the opening and held on to win in a photo finish. As day two began it seemed as though there was only to be one real winner, and that wthe irish stables. The horses trained in this country were just not capable of dealing with the irish raiders, something that became appareent as windsor park and don poli,
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show on turf at a level he had previously soared in.Qualando completed a treble for Nicholls at a huge price of 25/1 as team GB staged a fightback. Day three started exactly the same way in which the previous two had, with an irish winner. Vatour produced arguably the best performance of the meeting for willie mullins. He produced a round of faultless jumping to set us up for another action packed day of racing. It was to be the day that many had hoped for, with AP McCoy finally getting a winner under his belt. Uxizandre won at a price of 16/1 to make sure that the champion jockey had at least one more fond memory to add to the collection. Team GB shared the wins around with nicky henderson, david pipe, warren greatrex and alan king all heading to the winners enclosure. Whilst every day at Cheltenham is special, Gold Cup day tops the bill and day four saw no sign of crowds dropping. Nicky henderson emulated irish trainer willie mullins when scoring a 1-2-3 in the first. Favourite Peace and Co (pictured) held off Top Notch and Hargam.
to deny Top Notch (White cap) in the opener on the final
another mullins horse, took the first two races. There was a close second for AP McCoy on Parlour games, but still the champion jockey was yet to find a winner. Instead it was to be British trainer Paul Nicholls who gained a double, with Aux Ptits Soins and Dodging bullets winning their respective races. Dodging bullets race was memorable sadly for the wrong reason as Sprinter Sacre, a horse who had won at cheltenham by over 16 lengths and was considered by many to be the greatest two miler ever, was pulled up. Sacre was returning heart issues after looking seemingly unbeatable, and it was clear that he could just no longer cut it
James woodhouse, who was there on the day, recalls the race. “The noise was deafening as they came to the last. Everyone was either on tip toes or had the binoculars to get a better view.” He continued, “You couldn’t help but get caught up in it. I had bet on Peace & Co and almost lost my voice” Coneygree made history by winning the Gold Cup in impressive fashion and became the first novice ever to win it. He made the running from the start and held off all challengers to take the coveted prize. Willie Mullins completed a staggering festival with another two winners in the form of wicklow brave and Killtulgh Vic. It was not enough to save the irish team from defeat however.
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A final farewelll When Anthony Peter McCoy rode his first winner at the age of 17 for trainer Toby Balding, I’m sure few could have predicted the heights the you man from Northern Ireland would scale. ‘AP’ has gone onto to ride over 4000 winners in his career and scoop a previously unheard of 19 consecutive Champion Jockey titles. As if that wasn’t enough he was voted Sports Personality Of The Year, another first for a jockey, and has Gold Cup and Grand National wins to his name. The curtain is closing on the 40 year old however following his announcement to retire at the end of the jump season. That means we’ve seen the last of him at Cheltenham and will only see him tackle one more Aintree meeting. it would be a fitting end to the legend of jump racing if he were to sign off in style and win another Grand National, a race that deserted him for so long. It took until 2010 for McCoy to win his first national on Don’t Push It for Jonjo O’Neill, and he has not been able to ever claim the race again. Fellow jockey Dominic Elsworth has labelled McCoy a ‘freak’. “He’s broken every bone and every record.” Elsworth continued, “He’s actually a freak, in a good way, like a Michael Jordan or a Usain Bolt.”
AP recieving his Sports Personality Of The Year award Whilst Michael Jordan and Usain bolt may be slightly more famous ( and richer) than McCoy, he is regarded as the best both in the weighing room and the stands. Jon Rowan remembers seeing McCoy in action at a Cheltenham festival two years ago. “It was my first festival and there was all this buzz around whether AP could win the top jockey award. I’d never seen him before and didn’t think jockeys were all that talented, the quickets horse would win the race.” He goes on, “It wasn;t until they passed the stands and I could see the horse pulling like a train at the rains wanting to speed off, it wasn’t allowed to until the final stretch, winning by a length.” “ I realised then just how much he knew about the horse, and how hard it must of been for him to actually win” Whether he wins again or not, it is safe to say that racing just wont be the same without him.
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the ups and downs of a young jockey You have to be a made of something a little different to want to be a jockey, what with the early starts, less than plentiful diet and the odd heavy fall. These are only ‘minor’ setbacks for 19 year old Naomi Nicol who dreams of one day getting a ride in a competitive race. The teenager from Ryde on the Isle of Wight, took a step closer to realising her dream when she enrolled at the British racing school in Newmarket, to undertake jockey training. The racing school has been at the forefront of bringing through young talent in this country, with the likes of former champion jockey Paul Hanagan and Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase winner Sam Thomas being previous pupils. Things ran less than smoothly however, as only a few months into the course Naomi was forced to drop out due to ill health. “It was such a crazy time for me, firstly the euphoria and joy of receiving
Former champion jockey Paul Hanagan who attended the school
the letter through the post confirming my place; to no long later having to make the heart breaking choice to drop out and go home.” She continued, “I’m a ‘chronie’ (Chron’s disease) which can be pretty serious, so I didn’t have much choice but to take some time out.” The dream is far from over though as Nicol has don’t let go of her dream now she has returned to full health. “I’ve been involved with horses my entire life and that is certainly not going to change, I love riding and still hope to one day be involved at the highest level.” “I have ridden a winner in the Isle of Wight derby and that was amazing, I can only imagine would it would be like to get a winner at a packed out Cheltenham or Aintree.” Naomi has since reapplied to go back onto the jockey training course as she hopes to continue where she left off. “Hopefully they’ll have me back at Newmarket, but I do know competition for places is tough.” “In the meantime, I guess I’ll just spend my time at the stables close to home and watch the coverage of Cheltenham and The Grand National on tv at home.”
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beating the bookies Unless you happen to be Biff
Tannen it can be very hard to beat the bookies and walkway in profit, especially over a long time. Thankfully at the Winning Post, we have put together a ‘focus’ group to try and find the answer. From the time my best friend turned 18, the very first thing he made me do with him was head to the bookies and place a bet on the weekend football. That was the start of a slippery slop, as since then I’ve also discovered the sheer volume of markets available. Group member 2, Matthew Winkles is much the same. Again it started with a trip with a friend to the local bookies and the weekend coupons. Member number 3 is slightly different a man who enjoys a flutter every now and again, but is far more into casino games and online play. Shoaib goes with whatever he is feeling at the time. The first thing we’d suggest is FORM. For me especially, I think it is crucial to know who is bringing what to the table. If a horse has done all of its winning on good ground, I’d want to know that before risking any of my hard earned. The same applies to trainers too, if one yeard has won ten out of the last ten, I’d rather back their horse than one that hasn;t had a winner in twenty. Seems straightforward enough, but these things are often overlooked.
Our next tip is to FOLLOW THE MONEY. Coming up to post time and you’re don’t know what to bet on? Sudeenly a horse is cut from 12/1 to 10/1 to 8/1 and so on, chances are, it’ll do well. This happens because someone somewhere has placed a lot of money on the selection, forcing bookmakers to shorten odds. The shorter the odds drop, the more confidence people have in that horse. Our final tip is one we all agree on, IF IN DOUBT ASK TWITTER. Yes, we’ve all been there. Checking a racecard a million times and not being able to make a firm decision, so the logical thing to do is search social media for a helping hand. Granted, some of the self proclaimed ‘tipsters’ may not be able to pick their own noses, but some do give out some sound advice. Good luck!
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With summer just around
the corner and the flat season revving its engine, we take a quick glance at what is in store for us from the 9th-11th April at Aintree.
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and now fo
The opening day will provide top class horses in the form of the Betfred Bowl, which was won last year by Irish horse First Lieutenant. The Red Rum Handicap Chase and the Novices’ Hurdle will surely throw up some quality runners The Friday of the festival is a day that is taken very seriously by many, and thats because it’s ladies day. This will mean plenty of hours infront of the mirror in order to try and take home the cash prize for the best dressed. Aside from the fashion show there is also racing to see. The feature of the day is the Melling Chase which was won easily by Sprinter Sacre last year. The Topham Chase will be the first race to use the National type fences, giving jockeys a chance to see what they are up against the following day.
Runners and riders as they pass a pa
Look, ladies! Ladies day at Aintree is a big deal for the
This sets us nicely up for the big day Saturday and the National itself. Aside from that the Magull Chase will be sure to be a competitive renewal and well worth watching
majority or women that arrive. Yes, betting on horses and appreciating the efforts of those who steer them is part of the day, but the chance to look good and enjoy a cocktail or two makes the most appeal. Whilst most will have had outfits sorted months ago, here is a few tips for those that are struggling.
There, we said it was a quick glance!
http://www.thecrabbiesgrandnational. co.uk/fabulousfriday/category/stylefashion-tips
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Grand National Fact File 1. First run in 1839 2. run over 4 miles 3 1/2 furlongs (7,141m) 3.30 fences over two circuits of the course 4.The most valuable jump race in Europe with a prize fund of 1 Million pounds 5. The National has been broadcast on terrestrial TV since 1960 6.This years running will be held on 11th April 2015
acked out grandstand at Aintree
7. It will be Champion Jokcey Ap McCoys last ever run in the race 8. ‘The Duke’ was the first official winner 9. Foinavon fence is named after a horse that won in 1967 at odds of 100/1 10. Red Rum is the only horse ever to win the Grand National three times (1973, 1974 and 1977)
Racegoers at last years festival