By Graham Thomas
Former scrum-half Callum Pritchard is set to make it a dozen winners this season as a jockey – and underline why he was right to switch sports from rugby to horse racing.
The 23-year-old from Porth used to wear the No.9 jersey for Wattstown and came through the same Rhondda schools system as Wales internationals Kieron Assiratti and Cameron Winnett.
Pritchard played both with and against Assiratti and Winnett at Wattstown, but then left to play rugby for English club, Minehead Barbarians.
The reason for that move was because his career as a jump jockey was starting to take off and he was riding out for renowned trainer Phillip Hobbs at their Sandhill stables.
Now, Pritchard is currently one of the brightest young jockeys in racing and in a spectacular breakthrough season has managed to ride 10 winners in November alone.
That makes 11 in total for the conditional jockey, who can soon make it a round dozen.
“I played rugby right through school and then for Wattstown and was still playing last year for Minehead,” says Pritchard, who was a shock winner earlier this month of the historic Badger Beer Handicap Chase at Wincanton, on Al Dancer.
“But you do get knocked about a bit in rugby and I couldn’t really afford to take the injury risk anymore, so I stopped.
“My rugby career was hardly a claim to fame. But it’s been great to see what Kieron and Cam have gone on to achieve.”
Rugby started to take a back seat for Pritchard at around the age of 14, remarkably the first time he rode a horse.
Even then it was more of a pastime than a potential career until only two years ago he started to ride in point-to-point races.
“I had nothing to do with horses as a kid,” admits Pritchard.
“My girlfriend, Hannah had a horse 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.”
His potential was noted after some impressive statistics in the point-to-point racing world but even when he stepped up as a national hunt jockey under rules this season, his progress was not expected to be anywhere near as dramatic as is has been.
Just as Winnett seized his chance last season as Wales full-back after injuries to the likes of Liam Williams, Pritchard’s big opportunity came when experienced jockey Dylan Johnston was suspended.
That enabled the young Welsh rider to step up on board Al Dancer and he rode like a veteran to steer the grey to a stunning 25-1 success for Welsh trainer Sam Thomas.
Since then, the winners have come regularly, including a feature handicap chase at Wetherby on ther Irish horse, Densworth.
Having moved on from Hobbs’ yard, the Rhonnda rider is now with another leading trainer, Ben Pauling, who is based near Cheltenham.
“Things have gone incredibly well for me this season – beyond my dreams, really,” adds Pritchard.
“You need to be given good horses – which luckily, I am getting at the moment – and then it’s all about making the most of your opportunity, just like in any sport, really.”
A conditional jockey needs to ride 75 winners to lose their full claim – their weight allowance – before they are categorised as full professional jockeys.
That means Pritchard still has some way to go but he insists: “I’m in no rush.
“I want to continue to get the right horses in the right races. If I can still keep riding winners for the right people, then I’ll be happy to ride out my claim that way.
“It’s all about momentum. When you have a couple of winners, then everything seems to fall into place. It’s now about keeping it going and making sure the ball keeps rolling.”
