There is still a flicker of life in the race to be the champion apprentice jockey of 2015 but only just, after Tom Marquand rode Albe Back to victory in a maiden event here on Thursday and moved to 53 winners this season, three clear of Jack Garritty, his only remaining rival for the title.
Marquand is now as short as 1-20 to follow Oisin Murphy, recently confirmed as the only retained jockey to the powerful Qatar Racing operation next year, as champion apprentice. The roll of honour also includes Frankie Dettori, Ryan Moore, Paul Hanagan and Seb Sanders, all of whom went on to claim the senior riders’ title, too.
The apprentice championship is no guarantee of future success, as Marquand readily concedes. “At the end of the day, it’s not going to affect anyone using us next year or not,” he said after his win on Albe Back. “If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen and whether or not you’ve got champion apprentice next to your name, you’ve only been denied by one or two if you’re beat.
“It’s not like you weren’t in the competition at all, people will see the bigger picture. It’s a long career you can have, as proven by people like Hughesie [Richard Hughes] and Lester Piggott. It’s brilliant to be in this position now but you want to be remembered for the future, not for what you’ve done this year.”
Marquand is less than 30 winners from losing his claim and having to compete with senior riders on level terms, which he acknowledged as “a tough time for everybody”. He added: “James Doyle is the recent one to bust through those gates, he went from struggling big time and thinking of other careers to now being Godolphin stable jockey and a multiple Group One winner. You need to look to the future and past the quiet times, if they’re to come.”
Marquand is 17 and passed his driving test only in June, but has been averaging about 1,200 miles a week ever since. He is, inevitably, feeling the pace a little as the end of the season approaches but, at a time when many of his contemporaries are heading to university or college, he too plans to further his education with a month riding in Australia.
“We’ve both got a lot of good rides left,” Marquand said. “Three winners isn’t a big margin considering, earlier in the year, we were having trebles and doubles.
“I’m at Catterick on Saturday and Haydock [on Friday], then after Saturday I won’t be riding unless the boss [Richard Hannon Jr] puts me on horses. Then I’ll hopefully go away to Australia for a month, just to get a bit of experience. I went out to America last year, so this year I thought I’d go and learn something new and I may as well see the other side of the world. Then I’ll be back working away at the Hannons and waiting my place in the queue for next year.”
Marquand rode at 7st 11lb earlier in the season, before settling on a minimum weight of 8st after discussions with both three-times champion jockey Richard Hughes, then the stable jockey at the Hannon stable, and Richard Hannon Sr.
“We decided that was sensible,” he says. “It’s comfortable and strong and that’s an important part of being an apprentice, you’ve got to be strong because you’re multiple years younger than the people upsides you. They’ve got age and experience on their side, so you’ve got to have everything on your side. There’s no point trying to be silly with your weight and messing it up while you’re young.”
It is a sign of the confidence with which Marquand is looking to the future, whether or not it is as the champion apprentice. Many before him have followed the same career path only to stall after losing their claim, but there is something about Marquand that suggests he will not be another.
Jack Hobbs, the Irish Derby winner, remains the 5-4 favourite for Saturday’s Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot despite being drawn 12 in a field of 13, with only Maverick Wave, his pacemaker, on his outside.
“I have to agree with John Gosden [the trainer of Jack Hobbs], who described the draw as ‘disappointing’,” William Buick, who will ride the colt for his main employer Godolphin, said on the operation’s website.
“John knows, as well as anybody, that the first bend comes up very quickly [at Ascot], and there will be a real jostle for an early position. You need some luck.”
Don Cossack, who finished third in the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham in March, was the easy winner of the Grade Three Irish Daily Star Chase at Punchestown on Thursday.
Running for the first time since his success in the Grade One Punchestown Gold Cup in April, when he beat the Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up Djakadam, Don Cossack started at 1-4 and coasted to a 12-length victory under Bryan Cooper.
Gordon Elliott’s chaser is among the ante-post favourites for both the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day and the Gold Cup next March, at best prices of 6-1 and 8-1 respectively. Vautour, the outstanding winner of the JLT Novice Chase at last season’s Festival, is the favourite in both markets.
“It’s great to get that out of the way, I was nervous beforehand,” Elliott said. “We know there is a lot of improvement in him and he gave a real good blow.
“Bryan said he was never out of second gear. He said he gave a bit of a blow at the back of the fifth-last, but he never moved on him and he finished full of running. It might not have been the strongest race but he had to start somewhere.
“If he stays in one piece, we’re hoping for a marvellous year and we’re looking forward to it. He’s won on heavy, but I still believe he’s better on that [faster] ground and is a horse for all those good festivals.
“He’s the highest-rated horse in England and Ireland and second-favourite for the Gold Cup. I don’t have too many like that in the yard. I have to train him like a Gold Cup horse now.”
