Tag: Tom Marquand

Lure of Global Riches Alters Face of Jockeys’ Championship

The rider who streaked home in the £4.7m Sheema Classic in Dubai at the weekend is also odds-on to win something rather more quaint.

The title of champion Flat race jockey was once contested with fierce pride by men who thrashed car engines dashing up and down the land to ride a winner at Redcar or Salisbury. Lester Piggott, Willie Carson and Pat Eddery didn't care where it was, provided it landed a blow on their rivals.

Sometimes small private planes would lift them over the motorway traffic. But the mission never changed. Champion jockey was a crown worth fighting for. One year Carson expended so much energy to win it that he needed a week in bed to recover.

William Buick, who won the Sheema Classic on Rebel's Romance, has been No 1 for the last two seasons and is 8/13 to complete his hat-trick. Oisin Murphy finished in front in the previous three campaigns (2019 to 2021) but now says he will not forego a big international ride for the sake of being champion once again.

The truncation of the jockeys' league in 2015 so that it now operates from May 4 to October 19 owed more to politics than stage management. Nobody could pretend the 'narrative' of identifying the top jockey has been strengthened by starting it at the Guineas meeting and calling a halt on Champions' Day. The public isn't exactly on tenterhooks to see whether Buick can hold off Murphy, Rossa Ryan, Silvestre de Sousa and Tom Marquand, who complete the top five in the betting.

But behind the UK Flat Jockeys' Championship's struggle for relevance sits a reality we sometimes take for granted: the extraordinary globalisation of the Flat race pilot's trade.

In prioritising big races abroad above little ones at Bath or Beverley, Murphy was merely adopting a position now assumed by the world's best cricketers. Test matches no longer anchor their career planning. As England's Kevin Pietersen is fond of saying, cricketers are becoming international freelancers, attached to this or that T20 league, with the Indian Premier League the mothership of salaries. Playing for England or Australia may cease to be the defining honour for players who see themselves as hired guns.

Behind the UK Flat Jockeys' Championship's struggle for
relevance sits a reality we sometimes take for granted: the
extraordinary globalisation of the Flat race pilot's trade

In racing, tie-ins with owners and trainers still have a large say in where jockeys go. Buick was riding for Godolphin at Meydan and Ryan Moore was there to accompany Aidan O'Brien's runners. And yet, taking in the sweep of colossally valuable fixtures in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Dubai this winter, it's easy to form a picture of the elite end of racing becoming a game without frontiers.

Moore holds the title of Longines World's Best Jockey (he won it too in 2014, 2016 and 2021). We think of him as Coolmore's 'finisher' in the UK and Ireland. But his cv maps out his global reach (not to mention the time spent on planes). Outside Europe he has won the Japan Cup, Melbourne Cup, Hong Kong Vase and races at the Breeders' Cup. He's unlikely to be tortured by the knowledge that he hasn't been the champ in his homeland since 2009.

The champion jockey title still resonates. It still offers a measure of greatness in the saddle. Nat Flatman claimed the first 13 titles from 1840 to 1852. Gordon Richards won it 26 times between 1925 and 1953. Names still pop out to induce nostalgia: Joe Mercer's lone win in 1979, or Steve Cauthen's three.  Jim Crowley's victory at 38 years old in 2016, 10 years after he switched from jump racing, was a stellar accomplishment.

If Buick is anointed again this autumn the completion of his hat-trick will bring him joy. Nobody however could expect him to crave another winners-ridden victory ahead of a revival for Charlie Appleby's yard in this campaign (Rebel's Romance was a promising start).

Racing isn't alone in pivoting away from the old markers of excellence. The compulsion in world sport is to follow the money, which can be found in new places, new events. Ask the footballers signing for Saudi Arabian clubs.

This isn't just a British and Irish trend. Falling in love with Japanese racing yielded spectacular results for France's Christophe Lemaire. Three times Lemaire has been Japan's No 1 rider, by races won. Numbers though are less of a guarantee of immortality than his partnerships with Almond Eye and Equinox, a conveyance of extraordinary grandeur, and the worldwide horse of the year in 2023.

This free flow of human talent to where the best horses and biggest prizes are follows modern norms. If it means we see a less entertaining scrap for autumn wins at Catterick or Ripon then we'll just have to hope the champion buys us a drink from his or her vast international earnings. 

Racing may sometimes be stuck in a loop of self-doubt, but the growing opulence of the global calendar is one field where decline is not conspicuous. Piggott, Eddery and Carson boarded aeroplanes too, often in Europe, but usually to get them from an afternoon meeting in Britain to an evening one.

 

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TDN Horses of the Year: Quickthorn 

Continuing the profiles of the favourite horses of TDN Europe's editorial team in 2023, Heather Anderson selects a bold frontrunner with huge reserves of stamina.

At first glance, the admirable Quickthorn (GB), by Newsells Park Stud's perpetually under-appreciated Nathaniel (Ire), had compiled a fairly successful record as a member of the staying ranks throughout his five-year career prior to his Goodwood heroics this August. However, the Lady Blyth homebred elevated his game to another level when taking the G1 Goodwood Cup this summer, and it was the manner in which he did it, that made this the performance of the year for me.

The Hughie Morrison trainee first came to my attention in August of 2022, when winning the G2 Lonsdale Cup S. at York as, from my home in America, that was my first opportunity to stream one of his races live. Teaming up with regular pilot Tom Marquand, Quickthorn delivered a front-end processional performance and I marked him down as one of my horses to follow. Granted, Quickthorn's proclivity for excelling when out on his lonesome was not exactly a state secret, as he'd earlier won the G3 Henry II S. and G2 Prix Maurice de Nieuil in the spring and summer of 2022 utilising similar tactics.

He put me in mind of noted U.S.-based frontrunner Presious Passion (Royal Anthem), a two-time winner of the GI United Nations S. at Monmouth Park in New Jersey (2008/2009), who gave Conduit (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}) a scare in the 2009 GI Breeders' Cup Turf when just failing to last.

Needless to say, Quickthorn, a son of three-time winner Daffydowndilly (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and one of six winners from six foals of racing age from his dam, is well suited to his profession as a quality stayer. He has proven time and again that he not only has the stamina, but also a truly devastating cruising speed, if allowed to employ it. Indeed, immediately prior to the Goodwood Cup, the gelding had landed a listed race at York, giving the impression that he was rounding back into his late-summer form of the season before.

So, it was at first with bemusement and then with incredulous glee that I saw the 6-year-old bowling along alone on the lead over the Goodwood turf, a chilly Marquand doing his best statue impression (video). The margin between Quickthorn and his rivals increased with every stride the farther they travelled from the starting stalls.

Surely, with all the experienced and feted jockeys signed on–Dettori, Moore, Buick and Murphy to name a few–they wouldn't let Marquand and Quickthorn just gallop? The rest of the 11-horse field was loaded with quality horses, with no less than three Group 1 winners in attendance–Eldar Eldarov (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), Courage Mon Ami (GB) (Frankel {GB}), and Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}). Most of the remainder had at least one group title to their names, befitting the sheer class of one of the preeminent staying challenges of the British Flat season.

Despite the quality of the competition, it was worth remembering that Quickthorn, a proven stayer, would not fold once the real running began. The multiple group winner belonged in a field of this calibre, and had developed a reputation of being an especially tough nut to crack when given his ideal set up. And they gave it to him–a critical miscalculation–on a silver platter.

Running through my mind as the race unfolded was the simple fact that he shouldn't be able to get away with this in a Group 1 race. These were some of the best stayers and jockeys in the world. They knew his game and they knew it before the stalls ever opened. Surely at least one of the rival jockeys would send their mount to apply some pressure?

By the time the final quarter-mile was reached and the multi-pronged chasing pack was mounting a fruitless challenge a short time later, I was hard pressed to remember when was the last time I'd enjoyed watching a race to this extent. And it was this enjoyment, of watching a horse and rider in their undisputed element, that made the race linger in my mind long after Quickthorn and Marquand continued their relentless gallop all the way to the winning post. Nigh uncatchable. 

A tip of the cap to Quickthorn, who was later nominated for the 2023 Cartier Stayer award, and to his connections. It was truly a delight and privilege to watch.

 

 

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‘It Could All Happen Again’: Marquand A Live Chance In IJC Title Defence

The Longines International Jockeys' Championship (IJC) is the premier event of its kind in the world, and with good reason, as it brings together 12 of the most-accomplished riders from all corners of the globe vying for the winner's share of the HK$800,000 (£81,120/$102,320) prizemoney on offer.

The IJC, the true start of Longines Hong Kong International Races festivities, takes place annually at iconic Happy Valley Racecourse on Hong Kong Island, its tight turns and unique configuration offering up additional challenges, especially for jockeys based outside of Hong Kong.

Britain's Tom Marquand is one of four previous IJC winners in the mix Wednesday evening, joining Ryan Moore, Zac Purton and Karis Teetan, and looks to record his second victory in the event. The 25-year-old reinsman, whose wife Hollie Doyle finished on the IJC podium in 2020 (third) and again in 2021 (second) and also takes her chances this time around, is looking forward to perhaps winning the title outright, after sharing the spoils with Silvestre de Sousa 12 months ago.

“Last year was a bit turbulent but it's fantastic to be back,” said Marquand, who just last month won his first Breeders' Cup race in his first ride aboard Big Evs (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}) in the Grade I Juvenile Turf Sprint. “It was great to win with Silvestre. You'd always rather win it on your own, but it's better to take it home with someone else than not at all.

“It looks like I've got a good enough book of rides that if things fall right it could all happen again, but it's a tough evening of racing and it's highly competitive.”

Marquand has two of his rides in the four-race competition for trainer Caspar Fownes, who has posted more wins at Happy Valley than any other trainer, and one each for Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro)'s conditioner Francis Lui and Ricky Yiu. The latter sends out top-weighted and 79-rated Splendid Living (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) in the third leg–carded as race seven–a Class 3 (80-60) over the 1650 metres. The 6-year-old gelding has a record of 4-3-1 from 10 runs over course and distance, but will need his best with the big weight and a tricky draw in 10.

Doyle is one of two females in the field and is joined British transplant and now Australian-based Rachel King. The 33-year-old showed that she could mix it with foreign riders in Japan's World All-Stars Jockeys, going down by a point to Mirai Iwata.

“Last time I was here I went and watched some races at Happy Valley, I'd just ridden in an amateur ladies' flat race in Macau,” King said.” So, it's been a bit of a journey to where I am now.

“I'm really looking forward to it, hopefully I'll have a few decent rides in there as well. Zac (Purton) was giving me a few little pointers, there are plenty of good people to learn from. I'll just try to get as much information as I can.”

Kazakhstan-born Bauyrzhan Murzabayev also makes his first IJC appearance off a strong season in France, during which he rode 60 winners–including 12 in black-type competition–for the legendary Andre Fabre. Like Marquand and Doyle, the four-time German and three-time Czech champion, jets in from Japan, where he is riding on a short-term contract for the second straight season.

“I am very lucky to have spent a year riding for Andre Fabre, who for me is a great trainer,” says Murzabayev. “I learned a lot from him and it was a good experience.

“I think I learn new tracks and places pretty quickly. But if somebody had told me 10 years ago 'you will be riding in all these top races,' I'm not sure I would have believed them.”

Also participating are Moore, James McDonald, Mickael Barzalona and Yuga Kawada from overseas, while Lyle Hewitson and Vincent Ho join Purton and Teetan in representing Hong Kong.

The IJC begins with the evening's fourth race at Happy Valley at 8.10pm local time (12.10pm GMT, 7.10am US Eastern Time). Click here for the race card.

 

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Moore, Marquand and Doyle Confirmed For Hong Kong Championship 

A stellar list of riders–including British representatives Ryan Moore, Hollie Doyle and Tom Marquand–have been assembled for the 2023 Longines International Jockeys' Championship (IJC) at Happy Valley on December 6. 

Moore is no stranger to the Longines IJC, having won the event twice, while fellow Englishman Marquand landed the prize 12 months ago. Meanwhile, Doyle knows the circuit in Hong Kong well and finished a joint second in the 2021 edition of the challenge.

Reigning Hong Kong Champion Jockey Zac Purton will chase a record fourth Longines IJC crown, having won the event in 2017, 2020 and 2021. He is a six-time Hong Kong Champion Jockey and currently leads this season's local standings with 26 wins (as of 11 November).

The exciting line-up also includes overseas riders with proven records in Hong Kong–Japan's Yuga Kawada and France's Mickael Barzalona.

The Longines IJC is the most prestigious jockey challenge in the world and the most lucrative for the winning rider. The four races are worth a combined HK$7.5 million (approx. £780,000) in prize-money. Meanwhile, a total prize fund of HK$1,000,000 (approx. £105,000) in bonus money for the most successful riders will be split three ways, with the winner set to receive HK$600,000 and second and third HK$250,000 and HK$150,000 respectively. 

Andrew Harding, the Hong Kong Jockey Club's Executive Director, Racing, said, “The Longines International Jockeys' Championship is one of the most exciting and prestigious events in the international racing calendar, and this year is of no exception. We have a spectacular line-up, and in particular I am excited to welcome Bauyrzhan Murzabayev and Rachel King to participate in the event for the first time.”  

The four-race competition works on a points-based system with 12 points for the win, six points for second place and four points to third. The ranking of each jockey will be determined by the total number of points earned over all four races and the Longines IJC champion will be the jockey with the highest accumulated points.  

 

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