Author: admin

In horse racing parlance, ‘pulled up’ simply means that, for whatever reason, during the course of a race, a horse was brought to a halt by its jockey, thereby taking no further part in the race in question. Horses being pulled up is a common occurrence in National Hunt racing, particularly in long-distance steeplechases – of which the Grand National is the prime example – but, although less frequent, is by no means unknown in Flat racing.

Denoted by a letter ‘P’ in the form figures on a typical racecard, ‘pulled up’ is really just convenient shorthand for the act of bringing a horse safely to a halt. Jockeys are true horsemen and women and, as such, know better than anyone that pulling or tugging on the reins may frighten a horse, rendering it oblivious to any further signals to stop; steady, even pressure on both reins is really all that is required.

Pulling up is a precautionary measure taken by jockeys in the event that as horse is distressed, injured or otherwise unable to continue to race safely. Of course, this could include a situation where the horse in question is outclassed and/or exhausted and, hence, so far behind its rivals that is has no earthly chance of being involved in the finish. In fact, such horses may risk injury if asked to continue racing. Likewise, tack malfunctions, such as a snapped girth, or slipping saddle, can render a horse dangerously unsteerable, so pulling up, if possible, may be the only safe option.

Owning a racehorse is one of those apparently risky, expensive activities that has spawned a family of jokes along the lines of, ‘How do you make small fortune…? Start out with a large one!’ Of course, some owners do make money from the ‘Sport of Kings’, but they are very much in the minority and, on the whole, racehorse ownership is better viewed as an enjoyable, exciting hobby than an investment opportunity.

Various different types of ownership exist, some of which are more affordable than others. Sole ownership, for example, offers the potential benefits of naming your horse, choosing your own racing colours and receiving all the owners’ prize money your horse wins. You must, of course, bear the initial purchase cost of your horse, alone, plus ongoing training costs and ‘extras’, such as farrier and veterinary bills, transport costs, entries fees and so on. Thus, the average cost of ownership can be anything up to £23,000, annually, according to the British Horseracing Authority (BHA).

For reasons of cost-effectiveness, many owners choose to band together with one or more like-minded individuals, not all of whom need, necessarily, to be officially registered owners, in a partnership, syndicate or racing club. The terms and conditions of a partnership are defined by the individuals concerned, but syndicates and racing clubs are administered by managers, who take care of their day-to-day running while member reap the benefits of owning, or leasing, one or more horses.

Apprentice and conditional jockeys are professional jockeys, in full-time, paid employment with licensed trainers, but are licensed as such because of their age and, particularly, because of their inexperience when compared to their senior weighing room colleagues. The terms ‘apprentice’ and ‘conditional’ are similar, but not interchangeable. Both types of licence are available to riders aged between 16 and 26 years, but apprentices are licensed to ride on the Flat and conditional jockeys under National Hunt Rules. To compensate for their lack of experience, when riding against fully-fledged professionals, apprentice and conditional jockeys receive a weight allowance commensurate with the number of winners they have ridden.

Apprentice jockeys receive a weight allowance of 7lb until they have won 20 races, 5lb until they have won 50 races and 3lb until they have won 95 races. Conditional jockeys likewise receive 7lb until they have won 20 races, 5lb until they have won 40 races and 3lb until they have won 75 races. Highly inexperienced conditional jockeys, who have ridden fewer than five winners, receive an additional 3lb when, and only when, riding for their own stable, thereby increasing their total weight allowance to 10lb. On a standard racecard, apprentice and conditional jockeys can easily be identified by the denotation ‘(10)’, ‘(7)’, ‘(5)’ or ‘(3)’ immediately to the right of their names. In any case, once jockeys have ridden the requisite number of winners, they are said to have ‘ridden out their claim’, no longer receive any weight allowance and are considered full-blown professionals.

In Great Britain and Ireland, nowadays, the term ‘steeplechase’ is used to describe a horse race run on a prepared turf course over a series of large, fixed obstacles, known as fences. The term was first coined in the latter years of the eighteenth century to describe impromptu races between hunting horses over open country, in which the most prominent featues in the landscape, that is, church steeples, were used to demarcate the course.

Of course, this type of ‘grassroots’ point-to-point racing still exists, albeit nowadays on courses constructed, temporarily, on working farmland. Steeplechases, though, are a mainstay of National Hunt racing and, as such, are run on a total of 40 permanent racecourses, covering the length and breadth of Britain, throughout the year. The first purpose-built, enclosed racecourse of this kind was, in fact, Sandown Park, which opened in 1875 and is, nowadays, home to the season-ending Bet365 Gold Cup, formerly the Whitbread Gold Cup.

Under National Hunt Rules, steeplechases are run over distances between two and four-and-a-quarter miles, with the longest all, of course, being the world famous Grand National. So-called ‘regulation’ fences – that is, the type found on racecourses governed by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) – consist of plain fences, open ditches and water jumps. Fences are constructed from birch, spruce and other approved materials, to a minimum height of 4’6″, with the exception of water jumps, which, because of the expanse of water on the landing side, need only be a mimum of 3′ high.