It proved to be a memorable week as Welsh jockeys were at the centre of the week’s big winners and a championship bid was boosted. James Stevens reports on the action.
Saturday’s two big races featured Welsh winners including one of the biggest shocks of the season so far when Al Dancer, trained, ridden and owned by Welshman, landed the Badger Beer Chase at Wincanton.
The win, on the ITV featured race at Saturday, was quite an unbelievable one for the young rider given he only turned from amateur to conditional at the start of the jumps season and this was only his fourth winner under rules.
Al Dancer, trained just outside of Cardiff by Sam Thomas and owned by Dai Walters, had finished last on his previous start on the final day of last season but produced a miraculous front-running performance to win at 25-1.
Pritchard was praised for his brave front-running ride by Thomas, whose Gold Cup victory on Denman is the highlight on his own riding CV, and the jockey was completely stunned by the result.
He said after the race: “This is my best moment. I only rode my first winner as a conditional last week and then a second on Wednesday for Rebecca Curtis, and hopefully it’ll take off now. This was the biggest race I’ve ridden in so to win it is just unbelievable.
“I had nothing to do with horses as a kid. My girlfriend Hannah had a pointer with nobody to ride it so, me being me, I got my licence out for the craic, rode it two or three times and the love just grew from there. That’s why we are here.
“I was no natural. I could stay on but I had a lot of learning to do. In point-to-points I had a lot of good opportunities from good trainers and then it just took off. I never thought in a million years this would come this soon. I hope with this big winner I can do the same under rules.”
Pritchard, named only last week in the blog as a jockey to watch, does not usually ride for Walters and Thomas but took over with Dylan Johnston sidelined with a whip suspension. His talents though have caught the eye of a number of big trainers including Ben Pauling, Philip Hobbs and Johnson White and the resurging Rebecca Curtis.
Tudor King
The first race of the 2024-25 season over the Grand National was contested on Saturday and went to King Turgeon, ridden by brilliant Welsh jockey Jack Tudor.
Representing boss David Pipe, Tudor executed the six-year-old to perfection to follow up a Chepstow win in October to strike by three and a quarter lengths in the Boylesports Grand Sefton.
Tudor has made a good start to the season and is well on course for his best season yet having had 32 winners, just 15 less than the tally achieved for the whole of the previous campaign,
He also won on a smart young talent in Jurancon for Pipe in a maiden hurdle at Chepstow during the week, and he looks a horse to watch. He also teamed up with old boss Christian Williams to win on Jony Max.
Championship fightback
Sean Bowen narrowed the gap on Harry Skelton in the race to be champion jockey courtesy of two trebles across the weekend.
After victory at Kempton on Monday, the Welshman now trails by just two as he bids to go one better in the title race. He was second only to Harry Cobden last season.
Bowen’s first hat-trick came at Aintree, two of which for Pembrokeshire-based Rebecca Curtis. He won on Haiti Couleurs before Cedar Creek landed the bumper in good style. His other success came on Deploy To Spy.
Just a day later, wins on Woodie Flash, Lermoos Legend and Lady Harriett continued his fine spell.
Ben Jones is another jockey in top form having had winners at four different tracks. The highlight was success on Bowtogreatness at Newbury on Thursday as he could now be aimed towards the National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
