Yorkshire Racing Celebrates County’s Achievements
Racing guests from Yorkshire and further afield gathered at York Racecourse yesterday for the Go Racing In Yorkshire Annual lunch, sponsored by the Tote. This annual event celebrates the outstanding achievements of those based in the county in what was another great year of sport.
Shaquille, trained in Malton by Julie Camacho was given the honour of Yorkshire Horse of the Year, as chosen by the press and Julie, accompanied by her husband, Steve Brown was on hand to receive the award.
Tim Easterby continued his reign as leading flat trainer in Yorkshire with 62 wins in the county and his stable jockey Dave Allan was the leading rider, on 37 wins, narrowly ahead of Danny Tudhope who scored 34 wins and Ben Curtis on 33.
Dan Skelton and Brian Hughes once again landed the leading jump trainer and jockey titles respectively.
On receiving his award, Dan said,
“We try and have as many runners as we can [in Yorkshire], the tracks in Yorkshire have been kind to us and it’s a good thing to win.”
“I think regionally, National Hunt crowds stand out, you’ve got the West country crowd, the Yorkshire crowd, you see a lot of the same people racing and always cheering you on, it’s a great thing to be a part of.”
Elle-May Croot was the winner of the Go Racing In Yorkshire Future Stars Apprentice series, supported by White Rose Saddlery and was presented with her prize, a dressed racing saddle, from Wendy Hoggard of White Rose Saddlery, as well as sponsorship from Go Racing In Yorkshire for 2024.
Elle-May rode in six of the series races, winning one and finishing second on three occasions, earning 47 points and winning by 8 points.
“It’s a great series to target, we had it in mind from the beginning of the season and I’m delighted to have won it.”
New for this year were the public choice awards for riding and training performance of the season under both codes.
Brian Hughes took the leading jump ride of the season for his win in the Albert Bartlett River Don Novices’ Hurdle aboard Maximilian at Doncaster in January, while Phil Kirby landed the jump training performance of the season with Bushypark’s win in the Vickers.Bet North Yorkshire Grand National Handicap Chase at Catterick in the same month.
The flat ride of the season went to Danny Tudhope after winning the Follow @RacingTV on Twitter Handicap at Wetherby on Ballyare and the flat training performance of the season went to John Wainwright who produced Dandy’s Angel to win four times at Beverley Racecourse between June and September.
Another new category, hosted at the event on behalf of the Byerley Turk & Godolphin Arabian Conservation project was the award for the top performer from the Byerley Turk line, which was won by Lars Haase’s Muelheimer Perle. The mare is by Pearl Secret, who stands at Norton Grove Stud and is the only stallion representing the Byerley Turk line in the UK.
There was also a special award for Kevin Blake for his support of the Godolphin Arabian line; his Cloud Eight was by Dream Ahead, A descendent of the Godolphin Arabian line.
Suzi Prichard-Jones, author of Byerley, The Thoroughbred’s Ticking Time Bomb, explained,
“The Thoroughbred is a hybrid breed which was skilfully created here in North Yorkshire during the 17th and early 18th century.
“It has rested upon three foundation lines since its inception to present day, to where we now only have one stallion representing each line left in the UK.
“This award is to raise awareness of the plight of the breeding lines and to recognise the achievements of the small crop of horses that descend from them.”
The event finished with Milestone Awards for those who have achieved significant landmarks during 2023. These were presented to Karl Burke for training his 1,500th winner at Newmarket in May, Nigel Tinkler for training his 1,000th winner at Newcastle, also in May and Ben Curtis for riding his 1,000th winner at Redcar in September.
