PAT HEALY: This week Pat Healy reflects on the Galway Festival and picks out four up and coming jockeys who he thinks could go all the way.
Galway Festival
As I mentioned last week, this year’s Galway Festival was the first time you really noticed the change in circumstances post Lockdown. You really felt the lack of fans in the stands and it was a real shame that such a big Irish meeting wasn’t celebrated in the usual way. There’s definitely an empty feeling at the moment, but as we know this is the way things are and it’s much better to have racing in a reduced capacity than not at all.
Nonetheless, there were some great stories which came out of it with Princess Zoe (pictured) winning twice for Tony Mullins and Paddy Kehoe. Paddy is a great racing man and it was unfortunate he wasn’t able to be interviewed because he’s great value and people would have really warmed to him. He’s the sort of man this sport needs on TV because he’s experienced the highs and lows of racing and those are the ones that really resonate with those at home.
Young jockeys and the strength of the pony racing game
We’re very lucky at the moment in Ireland in that we’ve got four young jockeys, all of whom promise to go right to the top. The leading jockey at Galway, Gavin Ryan, Ben Coen, Shane Crosse and Joey Sheridan have all really impressed not only me but plenty of those in Ireland and based on their performances in the saddle so far, the next crop of jockeys is going to be pretty handy.
I always think the younger Irish jockeys have a headstart on their English counterparts because of the strength of pony racing over here. It’s getting better and better each year and you just have to look at those four jockeys as an example of that. They learn loads from pony racing and it leaves them in a really good position when they move up the ranks into the professional game. Horse racing is one of few sports when a 16-year-old can start out his career against someone who could be 30 or 40 years older than him and while that’s an intimidating thought, the pony racing game has made the jump much more manageable.
All four of those have got plenty to learn, but they are showing all the right signs and hopefully they can continue to progress as those before them have. Paul Townend was in exactly the same boat 15 years ago and he’s now won two Gold Cups which shows what you can do if you keep learning and staying focussed on the job in hand. Emmet McNamara was racing against Paul 15 years ago in the Dingle Derby and look what happened to him recently at Epsom.
Rachael Blackmore was another who came from the pony racing circuit and her success as well as those other jockeys shows how important it’s become to Irish racing. It’s an area the powers that be really need to pay close attention to because it’s educating the stars of the future. This game is nothing without those stars and pony racing is really helping to make sure we give the best chance to shine.
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