Category: Horses

At the time of his death, at the age of 23, in July, 2021, Galileo had sired 91 individual Group 1 winners and been crowned leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland every year, bar one, since 2008. Bred and owned by John Magnier and his Coolmote associate Michael Tabor, won the Derby, Irish Derby and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes during his three-year-old campaign, in 2001, and was named Cartier Champion Three-year-old Colt.

However, it was as a sire and, indeed, as a sire of sires – 20 of his progeny went on to sire Group 1 winners – that Galileo would make his name. Sired by Sadler’s Wells, from the family of Northern Dancer, out of Urban Sea, who won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in 1993, Galileo was described by John Magnier as ‘a very special horse’.

Of course, Galileo was the first Derby winner to be trained at Ballydoyle, Co. Tipperary since the days of Vincent O’Brien, but his progeny also included five Derby winners. They were, in chronological order, New Approach in 2008, Ruler Of The World in 2013, Australia in 2014, Anthony Van Dyck in 2019 and Serpentine in 2020. The crème de la crème of his offspring, though, was Frankel, unbeaten in 14 races, including ten at Group 1 level, and the highest rated horse of all time, according to World Thoroughbred Rankings.

Approximately 60% of all horse races run in Britain each year are handicap races, in which the weight carried by each horse is determined by the race conditions and by the official handicap ratings of the participants. Official handicap ratings, which are awarded after a horse has won a race or, failing that, has raced at least three times, represent, numerically, its level of ability in eyes of the handicappers at the British Horseracing Authority (BHA).

The highest, and lowest, weights to be carried are specified in the race conditions, along with a range, or band, of handicap ratings within which eligible horses must fall. Obviously, the horse with the highest handicap rating carries the highest weight. Thus, in a hypothetical 0-60 handicap, a horse rated 60 would carry the highest weight of, say, 9st 7lb, and so on down the weights. If the minimum weight was 8st 7lb, the lowest-rated horse in the handicap proper would be rated 46.

Of course, horses rated 45 or lower can still be entered, but are required to carry the minimum weight, so are said to be ‘out of the handicap’. Likewise, horses rated 61 or 62 can also be entered, but can only be accommodated if the number of entries rated 60 or lower is below the safety limit for the race in question. In this example, such horses would be required to carry 9st 8lb or 9st 9lb or, in other words, 1lb or 2lb more than the specified maximum weight.

Notwithstanding lucrative contracts, or ‘retainers’, to ride for leading owners, such as Sheikh Mohammed or J.P. McManus, which can bolster earnings to hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of pounds a year, the vast majority of jockeys are self-employed. As such, they are not paid a fixed salary but, rather, on a ride-by-ride basis, with income stemming from riding fees, prize money and, if applicable, sponsorship.

Riding fees are negotiated annually by the Professional Jockeys’ Association (PJA) and the Rachorse Owners’ Association (ROA) and, as of April 1, 2022, stood at £142.90 and £194.63, respectively, for Flat and National Hunt jockeys. If a proposed mount is declared a non-runner after a jockey has been declared, that jockey receives 50% of the riding fee. Prize money is more complicated, but, according to the PJA, Flat jockeys typically receive 8.50% and 2.61%, respectively, of advertised win and place prize money, while National Hunt jockeys receive 11.03% and 3.44%, respectively.

Of course, jockeys’ earnings are subject to tax and a whole raft of deductions, including PJA, Weatherbys, agent and valet fees. Take-home pay varies widely but, on the whole, jockeys earn much less than other professional sportspeople, such as footballers, golfers and tennis players. An average jockey, under either code, can expect to earn in the region of £30,000 a year after tax and deductions, but an apprentice or conditional jockey could certainly earn less than half that amount.

The Chester Vase is a Group Three contest, run over an extended mile and a half at the Deeside venue during its May Festival. The race was established in 1907, but was restricted to three-year-old colts and geldings in 1959, since when it has been considered a Derby trial. Chester Racecourse does not feature a ‘Tattenham Corner’ per se, but is not wholly dissimilar to Epsom Downs insofar that there is a sharp, left-handed turn into the straight and crowds assemble on both sides of the track.

Undoubtedly the most famous winner in the history of the Chester Vase was Shergar who, in 1981, won by 12 lengths en route to his record-breaking 10-length win in the Derby. No Chester Vase won the Derby again until 2013, when Ruler Of The World, trained by Aidan O’Brien, easily justified odds-on favouritism on the Roodeye before following up at Epsom. The Galileo colt was the last horse to win both races but, in 2017, Wings Of Eagles finished runner-up to stable companion Venice Beach in the Chester Vase before springing a huge 40/1 surprise in the Derby.