Fat chance of finding jockeys as racing falls victim to obesity crisis
HORSE racing is approaching a crisis in Britain with stable hands becoming too heavy for delicate young thoroughbreds, a top trainer has claimed
John Gosden, who has trained more than 3,000 winners worldwide including those of the Derby, the King George and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, said that young would-be jockeys are also taller than they were 50 years ago but lack the strength needed.
He said that Britain is losing the “fine-boned, wiry and athletic” riders it once had and instead flat race training yards are increasingly recruiting from abroad, with Italians and Spaniards favoured for having the right balance of strength and weight.
Surprises
The rising obesity crisis is shrinking the pool of would-be jockeys and work riders.
Mr Gosden added that even the “skinny” population is now heavier because of the increase in average height which has risen by around seven per cent over the past century in Britain.
Horses in training are generally exercised every day and their riders need to weigh no more than nine stone with a saddle.
It is estimated there is a shortage of about 500 suitable people.
He said: “We find that for riding thoroughbred flat horses, particularly young ones, it’s getting more and more difficult to find people of the right proportions and weight.
“I go to the [jockey] apprentice school and it always surprises me how tall they are. They’re tall and skinny – they shoot up more quickly – but don’t have the strength to go with it.”
Italian champion jockey Frankie Dettori, who rode Golden Horn to victory in the Derby and the Arc in 2015, and won the Oaks and the Arc on Enable last year for the trainer, is the “perfect” combination of size and strength, said Mr Gosden.
Frankie is 5ft 3in and rides at 8st 6lb with a saddle.
Mr Gosden added: “It’s no good being able to do the weight if you don’t have the strength to go with it. The ideal shape and form of a jockey or a rider is to have width and strength in the shoulders and strength in the legs. That perfect body is becoming increasingly rare.”
The trainer is backing efforts to designate work riding as a skilled occupation for visa purposes after Brexit and the expected end to free movement to the UK.
George McGrath, chief executive of the National Association of Stable Staff, which represents 6,000 workers, said the situation is “the worst I’ve ever known it”.
The rider shortage has less impact at jump racing stables, where horses are bigger, older and able to carry more weight.