Hayley back but she’s not for turning
HAYLEY TURNER is enjoying life far too much to think she made the wrong decision when retiring as a jockey in November. Not even a winning spree at her favourite racing day of the year — the Shergar Cup at Ascot — will make her change her mind.
Turner lines up alongside top Canadian rider Emma-Jayne Wilson and Josephine Gordon, the apprentice find of the season, in a Girls side that should be form choices even in a team riding competition where mounts are allotted by ballot.
Second by a single point in 2014, the Girls return as defending champions having won last year against teams from GB & Ireland, Europe and the Rest of the World.
Turner, who matches Europe captain Frankie Dettori by appearing in her 10th Shergar Cup, is excited. But only for today.
The tasks this week, in between cycling to the stable of trainer James Fanshawe to ride out and her fitness training, have included a trip to a DIY store.
Normal, mundane everyday life for most of us. But not for three-time Group One race winner Turner, who spent the best part of 15 years getting up early, getting home late and driving 50,000 miles a year around the country’s racecourses while virtually living in her car.
The 33-year-old had not fallen out of love with racing when she retired. Ground down, she simply jumped off the hamster’s wheel.
Turner, whose roles now include punditry for Sky TV channel At The Races, said: ‘I actually felt guilty for a few months after I retired. Just things like being able to have a day at home. It took me a while to get used to not rushing around like a nutter. I was always trying to find stuff to do.
‘I used to think I’d ride for ever and then something inside me suddenly said I’ve had enough, now. The day-to-day slog of the job is just not what I wanted any more. I’d done it for a long time. I am enjoying new challenges and wanted to have a go at something else.’
Any notion that a couple of winners at Ascot could turn the competitive juices into an unstoppable torrent can be dispelled by her feeling during the nine warm-up rides she has had to shake off the ring-rust.
The offer of a mount at Haydock on a Friday — all the way up the congested M6 for one ride — stirred visions of Turner’s travel nightmares. ‘No thank you. I’ve got better things to do,’ she said. And travelling for three rides at Carlisle’s all-girl jockey meeting on Monday ‘was a bit of a reminder’ of what she doesn’t miss.
So exhausted by the non-stop schedule, Turner once even grabbed 40 winks in the fast lane while stuck on a motorway.
‘The traffic was at a stand-still for ages so I thought someone will wake me up when we start moving,’ recalled Turner, who is waiting to hear how a recent interview to be part of the new ITV racing team went.
‘But we were still at a stand-still when I woke up.’
Gold Prince in the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Stayers is the ride Turner is most looking forward to and she fears the draw has been unkind to Early Morning in the Mile.
But the pressure is off. Today is just for fun. Like Turner’s new life.