Rupert Bell | Horse Racing Free Tips

Tom Marquand will represent Ireland in Racing League 2022 having been the first pick at this morning's jockey draft at Doncaster Racecourse. A total of 108 jockeys signed up for the inaugural draft, with the seven team managers each selecting seven riders in a pre-agreed order to ensure a fair allocation.

Ireland team manager Kevin Blake said, “I am really happy. Six out of the seven were selections I thought I might get and the exception to that I am very happy with. It is a nice mix of British-based and Irish-based jockeys, with some of the top lads in Ireland keen to support the concept. Gavin Ryan and Dylan Browne McMonagle rode in the Racing League last year and were very keen to be involved again, as was Billy Lee. It will be great to get them over alongside the British-based jockeys headed by Tom Marquand, who was obviously the number one pick.”

Each region will have at least one Group 1-winning rider, with notable picks including Frankie Dettori for Wales and The West, Jamie Spencer for The North and last year's leading jockey Jack Mitchell for The East.

Added Rupert Bell, team manager for The East, “That was great fun to do. I am delighted as I got most of what I wanted. I kicked off with Jack Mitchell as he was the star of the show last year, helping team talkSPORT win. We have Hayley Turner, Grace McEntee and Luke Morris–some very reliable jockeys who will do our team proud.”

To view the complete teams, click here.

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The William Hill Racing League ended at Newcastle on Thursday evening with Team talkSPORT crowned the winner. A total of 12 teams competed in the weekly Thursday races that began six weeks ago, with Gosforth Park, Doncaster, Windsor and Lingfield (twice) all hosting a night. Each race carried a £50,000 purse, with 25 points awarded to the winner, with points available through 10th place. Besides the £1.8 million in prizemoney on offer throughout the contest, another £200,000 in bonuses was on off with £150,000 going to the winning team.

At the top of the table with 368.5 points, Team talkSPORT consisted of trainers Michael Bell, Ed Dunlop, James Fanshawe and Roger Varian. They will split £60,000 between them. Team talkSPORT's jockeys, led by Jack Mitchell, will divide £30,000, as will the yard staff of the trainers and the owners whose horses made up the successful team.

Michael Bell's brother Rupert Bell, who co-managed the winning team with fellow broadcaster Alan Brazil, said, “I think it's been fantastic. I'm the Pep Guardiola of the racing manager world–Alan Brazil had absolutely nothing to do with it. I've been at every meeting and well done to the trainers and all their staff. Fair play to them.

“You can't knock the stable staff getting £30,000–that's fantastic. There'll be one hell of a party at Fitzroy House [Michael Bell's yard]–I better get invited.”

In second place at the end of the evening was eToro Racing with 359.5 points and Team ThoroughBid was third with 351 points. Thursday's two-time winner Jack Mitchell (276.5 points) was top of the standings among jockeys and earned £25,000, with six wins overall. Hayley Turner was runner-up with 231 points. Her prize was £15,000. In third place was Saffie Osborne, who took home £10,000.

For the complete standings, please visit www.racingleague.uk.

The post Team TalkSPORT Triumphs as Racing League Concludes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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