AFTER riding a hat-trick of winners last week, I pulled up three on the bounce this week and the closest I came was second.
A lot of people who don’t understand racing think if you’re a jockey you’re going to ride a winner every day. It’s not like that. Unless your AP McCoy or Richard Hughes, you’re not riding winners every day.
I was at Worcester when AP had a crashing fall, hitting the first hurdle. The horse twisted awkwardly in mid-air. I saw it through the corner of my eye and saw the horse landing on him.
You could hear the wind being knocked out of AP. When a jockey falls, the first thing you think is, “I hope they’re OK”. When you turn around and they’re still by the fence, you become worried.
AP was still lying down after a full circuit. As we went around the hurdle, he was still on his side in his colours, which isn’t good.
It normally means they’re either knocked out or worse. Noel Fehily went down to see him and said the doctor thought AP had broken a few ribs but they weren’t sure.
Ten minutes later, AP walks back into the weighing room with a drip in his hand and the colours still on him. The first thing he asked for was a cup of tea with 10 sugars.
When you see that, you think “you are nuts” but that’s the man he is.
So the only thing I caught this week was a cold and I’ve given it to my daughter. There have been a couple of sleepless nights because it’s affecting her breathing. It’s more anxious for me and my wife.
She’s our first child and you’re a little nervous when you go to bed and your kid is coughing and spluttering. You get a bit worried and I don’t think myself or my wife have slept properly for the last week.
Now’s the time of year when a lot of jump riders start to ‘school’ horses so a lot of younger horses are being taught and the older ones are getting their eye in.
I wouldn’t even like to think how many horses I schooled up and down the country last week — back to basics after the hat-trick is right!
