A Tough Weekend Takes It’s Toll
2 top jockeys found themselves in the wars at the weekend, suffering falls that highlight the bravery of our favourite riders.
Sam Twiston-Davies was on-board Dr Richard Newland’s One More Go, who fatally came down at the 2nd-last in a handicap hurdle at Chepstow (Sunday).
“Sam spent the night in hospital,” said Twiston-Davies’ assistant Carl Llewellyn.
“His parents have gone to visit him this morning.”
His agent, Chris Broad, confirmed that he could be out of action for some time;
“He went in for tests,” he said.
“I don’t know much more yet, but he definitely won’t be riding tomorrow.”
Ironically, Twiston-Davies had earlier taken to Twitter and expressed support for fellow pro Henry Brooke. Racing at Hexham was delayed after Brooke endured an awful fall on Old Storm, on Saturday.
The local air-ambulance had to be called in and Brooke was eventually placed in an induced coma, as both fans and industry figures began to fear the worst.
There was some relief, when Brooke used the same social media platform to reassure everybody that he was going to pull through;
“Thank you so much for everyone’s support and well wishes. On the mend now and hope not to be out for too long.”
We should never forget the risks our heroes are taking, out there. A long National Hunt season lies in wait and we want them all to reach the end of it, in one piece.
Bowen Knows It’s An Ill Wind That Blows…
The injury to Sam Twiston-Davies, won’t have been welcomed by anyone – not even Sean Bowen, who (in professional terms) found himself the beneficiary of his colleague’s misfortune.
As Sam’s team got the maps out for the local hospital, Bowen had to quickly focus his mind on stepping into the breach and riding El Bandit in the G2 Persian War Novices’ Hurdle.
Paul Nicholls will have been impressed by the cool head he showed, settling El Bandit at the rear of the field before stealthily finding a prominent position 2 flights from home.
Canton Prince buckled under pressure at the last, while Coo Star Sivola and Mirsaale were simply outpaced in the run-in.
After the victory, Nicholls said “Sean gave him a great ride and it is nice to give him a ride like that.”
Sean Bowen will know, all too well, that opportunities like that don’t come along very often for jockeys looking to make their way in the sport. He deserves full-credit, for a terrific ride under huge pressure.
Crowley And Gordon Both Set To Be Crowned
Silvestre de Sousa fell even further behind Jim Crowley, in the Flat Jockeys Championship, which now looks all over bar the shouting. EDIT: We have now paid out Jim Crowley as Champion Jockey! Congrats to all!
Meanwhile, Josephine Gordon has extended her lead over Tom Marquand to 4 wins and she now leads 48-44. Victories on-board Fine Resolve and Maid Of Tuscany have virtually guaranteed that she will take this season’s crown.
From today, Marquand switches to a full pro licence and cannot score any further championship points. That just leaves Adam McNamara, who is a full 10 victories behind her.
We’ve been championing Gordon all season in the blog and named her in our Women Set To Dominate Horse Racing, Over The Next Decade article that lit-up the internet back in June.
It’s rare for jockeys to outshine the horses, but the rise of both Crowley and Gordon have been the highlights of a memorable flat campaign.
