Category: Jockeys

The old adage, ‘If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is’ is not always correct but, in the summer of 1998, it certainly was. The previous year, Puerto Rican-born Angel Jacobs had begun riding work on Newmarket Heath and quickly attracted favourable attention for his accomplished, professional technique. Jacobs subsequently embarked on a career as an amateur jockey, riding his first winner, Bold Faith, trained by Willie Musson, in a lowly Class E handicap, restricted to gentleman amateur riders, at Newbury on June 11, 1998. All told, he rode five winners from 21 rides, at a strike rate of 24%, culminating in victory for Gymcrak Flyer, trained by Gordon Holmes, in a similar race at Beverley on August 13.

Holmes said later that he considered Jacobs ‘a very good amateur to use’ and he was right, insofar as ‘Jacobs’ was, in fact, was former American professional jockey Angel Monserrate. Investigation by the British Amateur Jockeys’ Association revealed that Monserrate had ridden professionally in the United States before being banned after failing a drugs test in 1995. The following year, he adopted the pseudonym ‘Carlos Castro’ and began riding as an amateur, but he was exposed as an imposter by a former employer at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York after riding a winner, arrested and taken away in handcuffs.

Once his latest attempt at subterfuge was revealed, the Jockey Club took a dim view of his actions, disqualifying all five of his winners on the grounds that he was ineligible for races restricted to amateur riders, suspending his licence with immediate effect and later, banning him for ten years. Following his hearing at Portman Square, Monserrate declined to comment but, speaking on his behalf, his wife, Lisa, said later, ‘He just loves riding racehorses and was desperate to carry on. In amateur races he gets paid no money.’

To a modern audience, the late James Frederick ‘Jimmy’ Lindley, who died in March, 2022, aged 86, was best known as a respected paddock commentator on BBC Television, for whom he worked for nearly 30 years. However, in his first career, as a jockey, Lindley rode 882 winners on the Flat, including three British Classic winners. He won the 2,000 Guineas twice, on Only For Life, trained by Jeremy Tree, in 1963 and Kashmir, trained by Mick Bartholomew, in 1996 and the St. Leger once, on Indiana, trained by Jack Watts, in 1964. All three victories came by a short head or a head on horses subsequently rated ‘inferior’ or, at best, ‘average’ Classic winners, which bears testament to his acknowledged strength in a finish.

Lindley fought a battle with the scales throughout his career and, like his contemporary, Lester Piggott, spent a season riding over hurdles in 1958, during which he rode 25 winners, before reverting to the Flat. Granted that his opportunities were restricted by weight problems, his career statistics on the Flat barely do justice to his riding ability; he achieved his highest seasonal total, 71 winners, in 1963, and his highest placing in the jockeys’ table, ninth, in 1963, 1964 and 1965. In the face of kidney damage, Lindley retired from the saddle, aged 39, in 1974. He was recruited by BBC horse racing correspondent Julian Wilson to succeed Clive Graham, a.k.a. ‘The Scout’ at the ‘Daily Express’, who died in August that year.

Originally founded in London in 1750, the Jockey Club moved to Newmarket soon afterwards, where it established its own rules of racing, initially applicable only to Newmarket Heath, but subsequently adopted nationally and internationally. Indeed, until 1993, when the governance of horse racing was ceded to the newly-formed British Horseracing Board (BHB), the Jockey Club was officially reponsible for the control and regulation of the sport in Britain.

The Jockey Club retained its regulatory responsibilities until 2006, when they, too, were ceded to the newly-formed Horserace Regulatory Authority (HRA). A year later, the BHB and HRA merged to form the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), such that governance and regulation of horse racing were, once again, performed by a single body.

Nowadays headquarterd in central London, the Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the country. It operates a total of 15 racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs, Kempton Park and Newmarket, to name but a handful, and has various other commercial interests, including the National Stud. The Jockey Club is governed by Royal Charter, such that all the profits from its commercial activities are returned to racing.

Lester Piggott retired from race riding, for the first time, in 1985 and became a successful trainer, based at Eve Lodge Stables in Newmarket. However, in 1987, Piggott was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, of which he served just over a year, for income tax evasion and stripped of his OBE, which he had been awarded for service to horse racing in 1975.

In 1990, Piggott surprising came out of retirement to resume his career as a jockey at the age of 54. Indeed, less than a month shy of his fifty-fifth birthday, Piggott rode his first winner, Nicholas, trained by his wife, Susan, at Chepstow on October 16, 1990. Less than two weeks later, he rode Royal Academy, trained by Vincent O’Brien, to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Belmont Park on October 27, 1990.

Piggott continued riding until 1995 – notably winning the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on Rodrigo De Triano, trained by Peter Chapple-Hyam, in 1992 – before officially retiring for a final time. For the record, he rode his last winner, Palacegate Jack, trained by Jack Berry, at Haydock Park on October 5, 1994. All told, Piggott rode 4,493 winners, including an unprecedented 30 British Classic winners; he remains, far and away, the most successful jockey in the history of Royal Ascot, with 116 winners. It would probably be fair to say that we will never see his like again.