Today’s best bets, by Chris Cook
After Katie Walsh’s famous victory yesterday, I put this stat up on Twitter: Last five years, women jockeys in the Irish Grand National: 2 wins from 7 rides = 29%. Men: 3/129 = 2%.
It was just a provocative thought that I’d had but a couple of blokes were kind enough to tell me what they thought of it. Another went to the trouble of pointing out the female 29% strike rate fell far short of a possible maximum (for them) of 71% against a possible maximum of 3.8% for all those men competing with each other.
Fundamentally, my point is this: two women have won the Irish Grand National in the past five years. They are also the only two women who have been given serious opportunities in good Irish jump races in that time.
In Britain, where our Grand National has never been won by a woman, the situation is worse. We have had some successful women riders over jumps, including a tiny handful of young professionals who are making a go of it just now. But the only women who have popped up in the big races with any regularity have been Walsh and Carberry from Ireland.
That talented pair have both, of course, come from great Irish racing families. If women of similar talent but from a non-horsey background had tried to break into the game, how far would they have got, in Britain or Ireland?
A lot of men, whether jockeys or no, get quite grumpy when this subject comes up. If we have to make room for more women in the weighing room, who will give way? Men, of course. Opportunities would become harder to get for young male jockeys and they are already hard to get.
“Yes, there are some female jump jockeys of talent,” I was told yesterday, “but they’re rare”. How do we know they’re rare? Hardly any women are ever given a proper chance in jump racing and we do our best, as a sport, to discourage them. Are there any female riders in that next jump race you’re studying? Unless it’s a hunter chase, the answer is odds-on to be no. Other equine sports do much better for female participation and you’re not telling me that eventing requires anything less than jump racing in the way of bravery, strength or toughness.
We’re missing out on any number of Ninas and Katies under the present state of affairs and we are also at risk of being judged harshly for our apparent chauvinism by half of our potential audience. Finally, we’re missing out on the chance to be one of those rare sports in which men compete with women on equal terms. You wouldn’t want that to be the prism through which the whole of jump racing was seen but it is an additional reason for people to take an interest and Lord knows we are not in a position to be passing those up.
Britain is having a pre-Aintree break from jumping today and instead our attention is on some really intriguing turf Flat racing at Pontefract. I like Astronereus (4.00) at 100-30 from the Amanda Perrett yard that has already had a couple of winners this year. He’s a half-brother to a French Derby winner and is by Sea The Stars, suggesting to me that he should still be improving at the age of four.
Today’s 10 furlongs is going to be on the short side for the rest of the season but it might be far enough around this testing circuit. He should have won on Shergar Cup day and ran a blinder when fourth in a valuable handicap back at Ascot in September.
Bonds Choice (4.30) might in any case be the form pick of the fillies in the maiden race that follows but I’m encouraged that she’s had longer than most of these to build on what she showed last year, having been off since mid-June. Of course that indicates that all was not well with her in July but Richard Fahey has got her out good and early this year and his three-year-olds are already winning at a fair clip. She’s 3-1.
Typhon (5.00) hasn’t been seen on the Flat since scoring on Lingfield’s Polytrack late in 2013, when he was with David Lanigan. He had a year off after that but has progressed over hurdles for Micky Hammond this winter, winning a handicap last month, and he’s interesing at 6-1 from a mark just 2lb higher than for his Lingfield success.
Tipping competition - a new week!
Congratulations to waltersobchak, who retrieved his lead in the last of our Good Friday races with Mymatechris for a final score of +21. That was enough to see him home ahead of kingklynch (+20.25) and cerises (+20) in a storming finish to last week’s competition. Cerises came from a mile back, having found not only Mymatechris on the final day but Lightscameraction (20-1) as well. Poor old Viejo (+15.25) was only fourth after taking the lead earlier on Friday through Grey Mirage (13-2).
Other good scores: Mai11 +14, Copshaw +12, Mulldog +11, sandiuk +7, wemeanyounoharm +6, Sportingbest +5.75, Fixxxer +5, chris1623 +4.50.
This week’s prize is a £50 bet on Saturday’s Grand National, kindly offered by William Hill. If, on Friday, you think you may have won, stand by your email as we will need to establish contact quickly in order to arrange your bet.
To kick things off, we’d like your selections, please, for these races: 3.30 Pontefract, 4.55 Fairyhouse, 5.00 Pontefract.
As ever, our champion will be the tipster who returns the best profit to notional level stakes of £1 at starting price on our nominated races, of which there will be three each day up until Friday. Non-runners count as losers.
In the event of a tie at the end of the week, the winner will be the tipster who, from among those tied on the highest score, posted their tips earliest on the final day.
For terms and conditions click here.
Good luck!
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