Love is in the air on ladies’ day
Andrews emulates sister with Festival success Amateur wins despite a dislocated shoulder
There is plenty of respect and camaraderie in the weighing room, but it is not every day that you see two jockeys smooching after a race.
After Bridget Andrews won the Randox Health County Hurdle on Mohaayed, Harry Skelton, who had dead-heated for fifth, rode up alongside his girlfriend and gave her a huge kiss. And Skelton was not done there. When he got into the winner’s enclosure, he leapt into the arms of brother Dan, who had trained the winner.
The Skelton-andrews team provided the Festival with its best celebration, but the young couple were reminded of the frightening side of their singular occupation in the last race of the day when Harry got a kick in the groin after a fall and had to go to hospital.
Andrews’ older sister Gina rode the winner of the Kim Muir here last year, and Bridget drew on that for inspiration. “I hung my stuff on the same peg Gina used and sent her a picture. I prayed that it would give me some luck,” she said.
Dan Skelton, in tears, said: “I am a professional and I should not be crying, but she has just won a race at the Festival! Bridget is gritty, she is tough and rides well. I think it’s about time we stopped talking about lady jockeys and just call them jockeys.”
If you want to talk about tough, how about Harriet Tucker? She won the Foxhunter Cup despite the inconvenience of a partly-dislocated shoulder. “Sometimes when I raise my hand right up my shoulder pops out, and that happened in the race so I couldn’t use the whip. I just had to ride and ride him,” she said of Pacha Du Polder.
This was just Tucker’s second race under Rules. “I’ve had five point-to-point rides, and I’ve won all five, so I suppose it’s been a good season,” said the 22-year-old. “I just cannot believe that I have ridden the winner in the Foxhunters. I just wanted to get around.
“I just carried on riding and popped it [her shoulder] back in,” she said. “After winning, I’m hoping they’ll get me an operation.”