Category: Jockeys

What is the Jockey Club?

What is the Jockey Club? 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.

Which current jockey has won the Cheltenham Gold Cup most often?

The most successful jockey in the history of the Cheltenham Gold Cup was Pat Taaffe, who partnered the legendary Arkle to three consecutive victories in 1964, 1965 and 1966 and added a fourth, courtesy of Fort Leney, also trained by Tom Dreaper, in 1968. However, of jockeys still riding, two have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice apiece.

The first of them is four-time British Champion Jockey Richard Johnson, who won the Cheltenham Gold Cup for the first time on Looks Like Trouble, trained by Noel Chance, in 2000. A 30-length winner of what is now the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at the 1999 Cheltenham Festival, Looks Like Trouble was pulled up in the King George VI Chase at Kempton, but made it 2-2 at the Festival when staying on gamely to beat Florida Peark by 5 lengths.Later in his career, in 2018, won the Cheltenham Gold Cup again, on Native River, trained by Colin Tizzard, who got the better of an epic duel with Might Bite to win by 4½ lengths.

The second dual Gold Cup winning jockey in the current ranks is, of course, Paul Townend, who recorded back-to-back victories on Al Boum Photo in 2019 and 2020. On the first occasion, Al Boum Photo was only third choice of four runners trained by Willie Mullins but, nevertheless, ked turning for home and stayed on strongly to win by 2½ lengths. Later that year, Townend succeeded Ruby Walsh as stable jockey to Willie Mullins and rode at his first Cheltenham Festival in that capacity in 2020. As defending champion, Al Boum Photo was sent off favourite for the Gold Cup and, although all out in the closing stages, held on to win by a neck.

Who was Terry Biddlecombe?

In recent times, the late Terry Biddlecombe, who died, at the age 72, in January, 2014, after a long illness, is probably remembered as the husband of former trainer Henrietta Knight. Together, the ‘Odd Couple’, as they became known, masterminded the career of Best Mate, who won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

However, in his heyday, Biddlecombe was a hugely successful National Hunt jockey. By the time he retired from race riding, on Cheltenham Gold Cup Day in March, 1974, he had ridden 908 winners and had won the jockeys’ title three times, in 1965, 1966 and 1969, although on the latter occasion he shared the title with Bob Davies. Nicknamed the ‘Blonde Bomber’, Biddlecombe was a fearless, larger-than-life character, but his riding talent was reflected by the fact he was stable jockey to Fred Rimmell and Fulke Walwyn during his career.

Indeed, it was Rimmell who supplied Biddlecombe with his one and only Cheltenham gold Cup winner as a jockey, Woodland Venture, in 1967. Rimmell also trained Gay Trip, on whom Biddlecombe won the Mackeson Gold Cup – now the Paddy Power Gold Cup – at Cheltenham twice, in 1969 and 1971, and finished second, beaten just two lengths, behind Well To Do in the Grand National in 1972.

Which jockey has won the 2,000 Guineas most often?

The career of jockey James Robinson, popularly known as ‘Jem’, effectively came to an end when, in 1852, at the age of 59, he was thrown from a fractious two-year-old colt, by the name of Feramorz, at Newmarket and sustained a broken thigh bone in the fall. The bone was not set properly, leaving his left leg several inches shorter than his right and forcing him into retirement.

Nevertheless, Robinson enjoyed a stellar riding career, winning a total of 24 British Classics, including the Derby six times, between 1817 and 1836, and the 2,000 Guineas nine times, between 1825 and 1848. His Derby record lasted until the latter part of the twentieth century, when surpassed by the legendary Lester Piggott – who would eventually ride nine Derby winners in all – aboard Empery in 1976.

Even more remarkably, though, nearly a century-and-a-half after his death, in 1873, Robinson remains the leading jockey in the history of the 2,000 Guineas. For the record, his nine winners of the Newmarket Classic were, in chronological order, Enamel (1825), Cadland (1828), Riddlesworth (1831), Clearwell (1833), Glencoe (1834), Ibrahim (1835), Bay Middleton (1836), Conyngham (1847) and Flatcatcher (1848). Of jockeys still riding, Lanfranco ‘Frankie’ Dettori, 50, has three 2,000 Guineas winners to his name, while Ryan Moore, 37, has two, so Robinson’s record looks safe for a while yet.

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