DAVID COTTIN
Part bootboy, part father-confessor — it’s all in a day’s work for top jockey’s valet Maude
Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase
(Wednesday 3.40)
FOLLOWED victory over the cross country course in December 2019 with a 17-length defeat of Tiger Roll last March.
Lost his unbeaten record at the track with a nine-length fourth to Kingswell Theatre over the banks and hedges in November, and prevented from having a Festival prep at Pau — a contingency after Cheltenham’s Trials card was lost to the weather — when testing positive for equine herpes virus EHV-4.
COTTIN SAYS:
He didn’t show any signs of EHV-4 and seems just as well as before, but last year he had the perfect preparation, and this year he is lacking a prep run.
He was beaten by the weight and the fast ground in November, but this time he meets his rivals on level weights, and I am hoping for lots of rain.
Cheltenham is a course he likes, he looks good and has worked well.
A reproduction of his performance 12 months ago would see him retain his crown, but ran a long way below that form in December and would not want drying conditions for his title defence.
ODDS: Evs
NEWSBOY’S VERDICT:
JUMP racing can be, quite literally, a dirty business.
Tackling fences at speeds that would get you a fine in built-up areas while being splattered with mud and the prospect of being thrown into the turf every dozen or so rides, makes jockeys some of the toughest sportsmen around.
It’s Chris Maude’s job to pick them up, dust them down and make sure they’re ready for the next race. The ex-jockey and his team of valets are responsible for making sure the riders leave the changing rooms with the right kit, at the right weight, wearing the right colours and with their life-saving safety equipment in the right places.
Their vans will arrive at Cheltenham long before most, packed with jockeys’ kit all cleaned and polished, ready for jump racing’s biggest meeting.
Maude, who rode around 400 winners during his riding career, has been looking after the needs of the jockeys since he retired from the saddle 20 years ago.
He said: “It’s a lot of kit for each jockey. Three or four pairs of breeches, various tops, body protectors, waterproof kit, gloves, goggles, all that sort of thing, and we carry spares of everything in case anything has to be replaced.
“If it’s a filthy day we could be there a long time after the last. We’ve got all the boots and saddles to clean. I often wonder why I didn’t pay attention at school.”
A lack of crowds will make the valet’s passage into the track a lot easier but, in the weighing room, the atmosphere is likely to be as charged as every Festival. Maude said: “The jockeys are obviously a little bit more excited. Then before they go out for the first race it suddenly goes quite quiet. There’s a lot of pressure and each jockey takes it differently.
“Some get a bit hyper, while others find a quiet corner to sit in, close their eyes and look like they’re asleep but they’re not – they’re just going through the day.
“The jockeys are very good at looking after each other and supporting each other but occasionally you have to put your arm around one. You live the highs and lows with them.
“We see them come in aged 16 talking about parties and girls – by the time they leave, they’re talking about golf and children.”
“I wonder why I didn’t pay attention at school” – valet Chris Maude