To
be a successful jockey requires an iron discipline. Only few with a
big passion for the sports manage to do so. They have to keep low
weight and make their horse run as fast as possible. They also have
to follow extreme diets before a big race.
Horse racing has always been a popular sport in the UK with a history that
dates back to many centuries. It is considered as the second
largest spectator sport in Great Britian.
The Royal Ascot, the Grand National and the Cheltenham Festival are
some of the big horse races in the UK.
With
the coming month of March, Britian will see the arrival of a great
Cheltenham Festival once again. It was revealed this January that 38
entries will be competing for the Gold Cup, which is the most famous
race at the Cheltenham Festival. Already there is a great debate
going on whether Sizing John will win the Gold
Cup or
whether Might Bite or Samcro will snatch the cup from the last year's
winner. It would be difficult to say with any certainty about the
winning prospects of any horse but it is sure to be a great race.
If
you are a punter and your enthusiasm for the race is much more than
an ordinary person, then the offers at Freebets might interest you.
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on all the races of the Cheltenham Festival.
As
a punter, you should know that if your horse falls on the racing day
you can avail from the money back offer of many bookmakers so that
you won't lose your money in vain. While others are giving the Best
Odds Guaranteed offer which means that if you take a price and the SP
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odds. For becoming a smart punter, you should look at all the offers
that major bookmakers like Coral, Paddy Power, Betfair and Ladbrokes
are offering, so that you can choose the best that suits your needs.
Below
are the top 5 british jockeys of all time:
Lester
Piggot:
The
British jockey Lester Piggot began horse racing at the age of just
ten years and winning his first race at 12 years of age. Horse racing
was in his blood as both his father and grandfather were brilliant
jockeys. During his incredible career, he claimed 4,493 wins making
him one of the best jockeys of all time.
He
was nicknamed as The Long Fellow because he was very tall for
a jockey. He struggled to keep his weight down because of his height.
He was the Champion Jockey who started a new style of race riding
that was adopted by many all over the world.
Ryan
Moore
The
name of Ryan Moore in the list of best jockeys is a more recent
entry. His father Gary L Moore was also a successful trainer and a
jump jockey. His first wins came when he was 16, the time when he was
starting to take up racing as a career. Though his mother believed
that he might not make it in racing and had much better complete his
studies. Ryan Moore however managed to include himself among the best
jockeys winning the Champion Jockey for three times along with
Champion Apprentice for one time.
Willie
Carson:
Willie
Carson was born in Stirling, Scotland in 1942. Mostly known as
Willie, he won the British Champion Jockey five times. Not
only that, he managed to win 17 British Classic Races along with
passing the 100 winners in a season for an incredible 23 times. All
that adds up to a stunning 3,828 wins that makes him one of the best
jockeys of Great Britain.
He
was apprenticed to Captain Gerald Arsmstrong in Yorkshire to know
about the basics of his trade. His first victory came when he was
just twenty years of age in 1962.
Walter
Swinburn
Walter
Swinburn also came from a horse racing background. He was born in
Oxford and his father Wally Swinburn was the first Irish jockey ever
who claimed 100 wins in a season.
He
was nicknamed as the Choirboy. He continued his career for more than
two decades. In the 1981 Epsom Derby, he rode his superstar horse
Shergar and won the race by a record breaking ten lengths.
Brough
Scott
Brough
Scott is the grandson of 'Galloper Jack' Seeley, the war hero of the
World War-I. Besides a great jockey, he is also known as a horse
racing journalist and a television presenter. He has worked for both
Channel 4 and ITV.
Brough
Scott has the distinction of riding more than 100 winners which also
include the Imperial Cup and the Mandarin Handicap Chase.