RACING POST SUNDAY JANUARY 6th 2013
WEEK MONDAY DECEMBER 31st to SUNDAY JANUARY 6th 2013
PREVIEW TODAY'S CARDS
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DAVID ASHFORTH'S SATURDAY MUSINGS FROM A RETIRED RACING ENTHUSIAST
"Resolutions, olds acquaintances and an early candidate for horse of the year.
Photograph of Home Run with the four young jockeys who have ridden him to victory in the past month (from left): Kieron Edgar, Michael Heard, Frank Hayes and SamWelton."
"THERE are sheets of graph paper, stuck together, on the wall. They display my New Year's resolution. The vertical axis shows my weight and the horizontal axis shows the date, starting on January 1 (Cheltenham not abandoned yet)
"There's a straight line , descending, from my starting weight (14 3lb) to my finishing weight (12st 7lb). It may not seem much of a difference, but it's four bricks. It's a protest diet, an act of rebellion against one of the nuisances of hormone therapy - more fat and weight, less muscle. I intend to emerge with weight down and muscle up and I am hoping that, if I tell you, it will make me too embarrased to give up.
"Being a jockey is an extreme form of dieting but it's a bit late for that and I find that if you give up everything you like, .......
EQUUS ZONE
David’s Saturday
Musings, New Year Resolutions, looking forward, planning his racing interests
for 2013. David says “Last year I thoroughly enjoyed watching Graham Lee’s and
Lucy Alexander’s progress. I think what they achieved was terrific and they
both did it through exceptional ability and skill allied to professional
dedication and application. So there’s them to look forward to.”
EQUUS ZONE
The professional career life and
times of
GRAHAM LEE
Grand
National-winning jockey Graham Lee will switch to Flat racing.
8:28PM BST 03
Jul 2012
“A
conversation that took place between former Irish champion Mick Kinane and
Grand National-winning jockey Graham Lee at Liverpool
earlier this year has been instrumental in making an amazing career change in
the weighing room also one of the most successful.
EQUUS ZONE
The professional career life and
times of
LUCY ALEXANDER
History-making jockey Lucy Alexander insists attitudes
towards females
in the sport are changing.
IN a sport dominated by men for so long, Fife
jump jockey Lucy Alexander is beginning to break down barriers after riding 30
winners.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/history-making-jockey-lucy-alexander-insists-1415926
Cheltenham Festival 2012
Lucy Alexander stays
ice cool as her first Cheltenham ride looms
Record-breaking
Scot has ridden 26 winners over jumps and 21-year-old now rides at the upcoming
Festival
- Chris Cook at
Kelso
- The
Observer, Saturday 3 March 2012 22.58 GMT
"Lucy Alexander, the Fife-based jockey, has been booked to
ride several horses at the Cheltenham Festival. Photograph: Anna Gowthorpe/PA
"Lucy Alexander, the first Scotswoman to become a professional jumps jockey, returned to raucous approval here on Saturday after yet another success aboard Red Tanber, the horse who is expected to become her first ride at the Cheltenham Festival. Already a record-breaker, the 21-year-old Alexander is promising to carve a successful career for herself in one of the last jobs that is almost always done by men.
"She's one of the best up-and-coming jockeys I've seen in a long time," said Bruce Mactaggart, Red Tanber's trainer. "There's a lot of people out there riding that are either good jockeys or good horsemen and she's both. She's very focused, very professional and, with a little bit of luck, she will make it, no problems."
Friday 14 December 2012
Lucy Alexander – leading lady
jockey
LUCY Alexander remains bemused by the interest she has generated since becoming
Scotland
By Hilary Mactaggart
The
record-breaking 21-year-old is endearingly bashful about her remarkable rise to
the top ranks of a male-dominated career.
Fife-based
Alexander appears uncomfortable with the countless compliments her achievements
have attracted, preferring instead to concentrate on her riding, and let the
horses do the talking.
Her meteoric rise has seen her ride 38 winners last season, including 11
for Barry Murtagh, five for Bruce Mactaggart, five for Ferdy Murphy, and four
for her Dad.
David goes on later:
“THEN there’s the
rather curious list of trainers and jockey’s whose runners and mounts I always
look out for and get pleasure from watching. Then there are the horses. There’s
already been one outstanding one this year I refer, of course, to
Home Run, who won his fifth handicap
hurdle in a row on January 1 at Musselburgh.
“Once German, now English, Home Run
has been very well placed by David Pipe (possibly with owner Martin Pipe acting
as compulsory consultant)
“Having won at Exeter on December 7,
off a rating of 89, Home Run then won at Taunton, Wincanton and Taunton again
before travelling 400 miles, to Edinburgh, to defy (maybe ‘laughing in the face
of’ would be better) a 14lb penalty ,
bringing him to 114.
“Five wins in 26 days is special and
so is the horse. Home Run isn’t a great horse but horses don’t have to be to
engage our interest. He looks
wonderfully bonny and willing and there are four young jockeys who must have a
soft spot for him because Home Run is a good ride for inexperienced riders, a
fact tellingly exploited by the Pipes.
“When Samuel Welton won on him on
December 7 it was Welton’s first success since his first one, in February. He
claimed 8lb, and claimed 10lb when winning again on Home Run , on December 26.
“In the meantime, Home Run had given
Kieron Edgar also claiming 10lb, his first win over hurdles and his fourth in
all under rules. On December 30 it was the turn of young point-to –point rider
Michael Heard, claiming 7lb for his first win under rules. Two day’s later Home
Run gave Francis Hayes , claiming 10lb, his third winner over jumps. Well done
everyone, especially Home Run. PS. Memo on Chepstow . A big screen is for
always, not just for today.”
Equus Zone
A BRILLIANT achievement by
TEAM PIPE and Lead Horse HOME RUN.
THE DEFINITION OF A LEAD
HORSE IN CONTEXT HERE
There are several ways that a "Lead Horse" can be used to advantage, to ensure a reliable manouver or reliable manouvers.
There are several ways that a "Lead Horse" can be used to advantage, to ensure a reliable manouver or reliable manouvers.
A
Lead Horse is used within the Equus Zone to lead a trainers’ team of horses out
at exercise
every day, a Lead Horse is considered to be reliable and trustworthy, easy and quiet to ride both on the track and off the track. A Lead Horse who knows and understands what is required of him, and goes about his work quietly and safely even when in the company of many, many other horses all around him, to distract his attention.
A Lead Horse can be used within the Equus Zone in a race, to help set the pace, to advantage another horse competing in the same race. It has been known on occasions that a Lead Horse has actually managed to win a race himself, to beat the horse he is giving a lead too.
HOME RUN in this context here within the Equus
Zone is used as a Lead Horse to give young apprentices confidence when riding and competing in
an actual race for the first few times.
A lovely Classic true story, a pleasure to read.
A lovely Classic true story, a pleasure to read.
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