With both Glorious Goodwood and the Galway Festivals on, this week is set to be a brilliant showcase of some amazing horse racing talent. As such we will also see lots of jockeys plying their trade in Group races and handicaps, with lots of young talent vying for spots on the top horses. We’ve got some fantastic talent coming through the ranks at present and we’ve listed five young jockey’s to watch this week, as they’ve caught our eye in recent times.
With seven booked rides at Glorious Goodwood, it’s very clear to see that Doyle is really starting to get noticed by trainers after continuing her rapid progression. Apprentice to Richard Hannon, she’s been getting a steady flow of rides from him and many other trainers, making no mistake when given the perfect opportunity. Her biggest day came at Newmarket in October, winning the Old Rowley Cup on Scarlet Dragon, who she will be riding in a Group 3 later in the week. She is more than worth her three pound claim and continues to turn heads as she goes from strength to strength.
Currently second in the Apprentice Jockeys Championship, trailing by only one win, Egan has been a revelation this season. With more rides than any other apprentice, he has proved to be more than worth his five pound claim. Cool, calm and assured, he’s been getting a huge amount of rides and it cannot be any surprise, winning £251,576 in total prize money so far this campaign. He currently has seven booked rides at Glorious Goodwood, which is a testament to how well he’s been riding and his best chance looks to be on Three Duchesses on Thursday.
Although her rise to success has been very well documented, it would be wrong not to include the brilliant Josie Gordon on this list. Retained by Hugo Palmer, she gained her first Group success in July when winning the Chipchase Stakes at Newcastle, following on from her Victoria Cup win at Ascot two months prior. She has been breaking new ground as a female jockey and the fact she has had 251 rides (as of July 31st) just proves how many waves she’s been making, as that is on a par with most male jockeys. Booked to ride in two Group races, you’ll be getting an assured ride if you back one of Josie’s horses this week and it’s hard not to be impressed with how much she’s improved since even the start of this season.
We now move to Ireland and the first name that comes to mind on the flat is Gary Halpin, who had a winner at Galway yesterday. His ride on Dinky Inty was a perfect summary of why he deserves to be on this list, holding up his horse from the rear before making smooth headway at the top of the straight. He still had lots of ground to make up and although it looked as though the more experienced Colin Keane had stolen the race when he stole several lengths turning in, Halpin had him well covered and got up in the final strides. With four rides alone on Tuesday, including for Kevin Prendergast and Gordon Elliott, it’s obvious for all to see that he’s one of the best apprentices around at present.
Riding out his claim when winning the Midlands National on Phil’s Magic for Tony Martin just two weeks ago, it’s been very obvious for a long time now that Meyler is one of the best up and coming jockey’s in Ireland. He’s already been successful at this meeting, winning the Galway Plate last year on Lord Scoundrel for Gordon Elliott, his career highlight thus far. He’s likely to make many more as he continues to improve and he once again has a ride in the Plate on Wednesday, where he’ll be hoping to steer Deans Road to victory for Henry De Bromhead. That horse arrives on the back of a win at Listowel in June and is only six pounds higher, so couldn’t be ruled out.