Tag Archives: goshen

An Interview with Jamie Moore

Posted in Horse Racing, Interviews by

Hey guys!

Today I am thrilled to bring to you an interview with Jamie Moore. From such a huge racing family, I thoroughly enjoyed chatting to Jamie about all things racing!

Me: What is your favourite race of your career, win or lose?

Jamie: The Grand National

Me: If you could ride any horse that you never have, past or present, who would you choose?

Jamie: Red Rum

Me: What are your opinions surrounding the discussions of banning the whip?

Jamie: I think it’s a load of rubbish. I think it’s a part of the art of riding. Whip technique is a skill and we keep it safe as the rules are very good in this country. And it doesn’t hurt the horses.

Me: Who do you look up to in the weighing room?

Jamie: Richard Johnson and Ryan Moore.

Me: What is one race you’d love to win?

Jamie: The Grand National.

Me: Of course, you’re from a huge racing family, do you ever feel any pressure due to the success of the Moore name within racing?

Jamie: There’s not pressure. We all do our best and we all know how hard we try. The success is sweeter, but when it goes wrong it hurts more.

Me: On from that, what is the best piece of advice you’ve been given from Ryan, Josh, Hayley or your dad Gary?

Jamie: There is no real stand out from any, but we always help each other with little things when we can. Josh is always the best for advice.

Me: How is Goshen? Personally, where would you like to see him go next?

Jamie: He’s fine. I’d like to see him go to Sandown next month.

Me: One of the best photos, in my opinion, from Cheltenham is the photo of AP McCoy leaving his ITV podium to come and console you after the incident with Goshen, what was his words of wisdom to you in that moment? How did you feel to have one of the greatest jockeys in our time to give up his time out to come and speak with you?

Jamie: He just told me to keep my chin up. I just kept telling him I’m a d*ckhead. He’s the greatest jockey ever but he is also a mate who I rode against a lot. He knew what I was going through so it was very kind of him, but that is the sort of fella he is.

Me: You seem very close with your Dad in terms of the sport, are you looking forward to a potential future within training like your dad or is that not something you have ever thought about?

Jamie: I love the training side of things and I love just plainly riding horses – whether it is racing or training and I will always be at our stables helping out.

Me: What would you say to anyone who thinks racing is animal cruelty?

Jamie: Jog on and keep your nose out. If you don’t like it then ignore it. Come and see how our horses are looked after. When you see ponies and horses chucked in muddy fields with no grass with their ears flat back in the rain – They don’t have much of a life.

Me: What would be your ‘horse to watch’ for the next season or two?

Jamie: High Definition.

Me: What is your favourite race course to ride at and why?

Jamie: Sandown is a lovely track. You can see over all of London to spectate and watch them jumping down the back straight. It’s a great race course.

Me: What is your best advice for young people who have a passion they want to follow, whether that be racing or something else?

Jamie: Be a student of whatever it may be, whether it’s sport, medicine, journalism, whatever it is. Read books and learn everything you possibly can to be the best you possible can be in your chosen field. Never stop learning. Watch the best and learn from the best.

Firstly, as always, I would like to thank Jamie for taking time out of his day to speak with me all things racing. I hope everyone enjoyed this post as much as I did speaking with Jamie and getting this post wrote up.

I will be back Wednesday (13/01/2021) at 6pm with an interview with Julie Camacho. So I shall see you all then!

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An Interview with Theo Gillard

Posted in Horse Racing, Interviews by

Theo Gillard

Hey guys!

Today’s post is an interview with Theo Gillard, who is currently a conditional jockey based with Donald McCain. Let’s get straight into it!

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Me: What is your favourite race of your career, win or lose?

Theo: Riding a winner at Aintree has to be the standout one, but having a ride over the National fences was some buzz too.

Me: If you could ride any horse that you never have, past or present, what horse would you choose?

Theo: Master Minded in his prime looked electric. There are plenty of others, but he stands out the most to me.

Me: What are your opinions surrounding the discussions of banning the whip?

Theo: Same opinion as any of the other lads in the weighing room. It’s there for safety and encouragement so if you stick to the rules, which are spot on as they are now, I think they should stay the same.

Me: As a jockey, weight is obviously a huge thing for you guys, so what would you eat on a regular day? Are there any periods across the year where you can actually eat anything and everything or is it a strict kind of diet all year round?

Theo: I tend not to eat breakfast, usually because I don’t get up in time for it! As for lunch, I tend to have mugshots or noodles, which work well for me with a but of fruit or something. For tea I try to stick to lean meats, but you’ve got to get takeout now and then to keep yourself sane. In the current situation I’m sure plenty of the lads will make use of the few weeks off we have, as I will too, to enjoy food a bit more than we normally would.

Me: What would you say to anyone who thinks racing is animal cruelty?

Theo: To anyone that thinks racing is cruel, I’d love to show any one of them around any racing yard in the country to prove how well they are looked after and loved by all stable staff in the industry. I’m sure it would widen plenty of peoples eyes to racing if they did a bit of proper research on it.

Me: Racing is an all year round sport, so when you do get some down time, what do you like to do?

Theo: We get a few weeks here and there in the summer, so it’s always nice to get away on a holiday or away with the Mrs to have some down time away from racing and feel like a ‘normal person’ for a few days.

Me: Who do you look up to in the weighing room?

Theo: There are a lot of good lads in the weighing room, but Dicky (Richard Johnson) is a proper role model. It doesn’t matter if you’ve ridden one winner or a thousand, he always has time for anyone and everyone and is an all round top man.

Me: What is one race you’d love to win?

Theo: At this point in my career, winning any race is a great day for me. But the Gold Cup, as for many other lads is iconic, as well as the Grand National, but I wouldn’t be picky mind.

Me: What would be your ‘horse to watch’ for the next season or two?

Navajo Pass ran a great race to be the 4th in the Triumph at this years Festival and could be a real nice stayer in the future. But the unfortunate Goshen looked extremely impressive too an could turn out to be anything.

Me: What is your favourite course to ride at and why?

Theo: Ironically, I love riding at Bangor. Donald’s horses tend to run well there and I think front runners are hard to peg back round there, so that’s what makes it my favourite course. As well as it’s only 10 minutes from home, so it makes it ideal for me.

Me: What is your best advice for young people who have a passion they want to follow, whether it be in racing or something else?

Theo: Racing or not, starting off your career in anything, keep your head down and work hard but enjoy yourself. Take it seriously, but not too seriously, because your head can play some serious mind games with you if you get too worked up about everything. As long as you can look back at it and be proud of what you have you’re career, what you’ve achieved and be happy with it, then you’re grand.

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Firstly, as always, I want to thank Theo for taking time out to answer some questions. It is appreciated. Theo works for a top trainer with some brilliant horses and with the passion he has for the sport, you can see he will go on to do great things and I, for one, cannot wait to follow his career over the next few years!

I really hope you enjoyed this post! See you all in my next.

An Interview with Niall Houlihan

Posted in Horse Racing by

Niall Houlihan

Hey guys!

Today’s post is an interview with Niall Houlihan who is currently a conditional jockey based with Gary Moore and interestingly, he is also the groom who looks after the very talented Goshen! I hope you enjoy!

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Me: What is your favourite race of your career, win or lose?

Niall: My favourite career race to date would probably be my last winner on Twenty Twenty for the boss at Fontwell last Saturday (14th March). He’s been a very unlucky horse for us this season, coming second three times in a row so to get his head in front was quite rewarding, especially after the events of the Friday in Cheltenham. Also was my first winner at Fontwell, our local track, which had been harder to get than expected.

Me: If you could ride any horse that you never have, past or present, what horse would you choose?

Niall: For me, it would be Denman. He, for me, is just the perfect stamp of a National Hunt horse and is definitely a hero of mine.

Me: What are your opinions surrounding the discussions of banning the whip?

Niall: I believe the current whip rules that the BHA enforce are correct and should be continued.

Me: As a jockey, weight is obviously a huge thing for you guys so what would you eat on a regular day? Are there any periods across the year where you can actually just eat everything and anything or is it a strict kind of diet all year round?

Niall: I’m lucky in the aspect that being 5ft 11 my weight will always have to be managed. I have a general diet plan that I got from a PJA dietitian but it will change if I’ve got light weights the following days. I never really take time off my diet as I actually quite enjoy my regime that I have and I am trying to be in the best physical state to try and improve my riding, so staying in that diet helps me keep focused.

Me: What would you say to anyone who thinks racing is animal cruelty?

Niall: Like anything, everyone’s entitled to their opinion. Above all else, I’m an animal lover and I’ve been brought up with horses in my life and for me, racing isn’t a cruel sport. Horses are given top class care all year round in our industry. I’d love to show those people who believe that the sport is cruel the lifestyle that the horses have and show them how much the horses are loved by the people involved in the sport.

Me: Racing is an all year round sport,so when you do get some down time, what do you like to do?

Niall: Jumps jockeys get a week off racing both in April and August and for them weeks I’ll usually visit home to meet up with family and friends. I’ll probably be quiet throughout the summer as most of the trainers I ride for turn their horses out. Last year I used the downtime to travel to France where I rode out for French trainer Emmanuel Clayeax. Other than that I play a small bit of golf in the evenings, but I wouldn’t call it relaxing.

Me: Who do you look up to in the weighing room?

Niall: I always look up to the lads, Josh and Jamie Moore. They are very good to me and will always help me if they can. They are two of the most professional jockeys in the weighing room and I believe great role models to look up to. I go through any of my rides with both of them afterwards, seeing what they thought and what they would do differently.

Me: What is one race you would love to win?

Niall: Grand National. Every jockey’s dream.

Me: What’s your overall goal in racing over the upcoming years?

Niall: To ride as many winners as I can and to be in the top tier in National Hunt racing for as many seasons as possible.

Me: What would be your ‘horse to watch’ for the next season or two?

Niall: Goshen. Being his groom, I know I’m biased, but for me he’s a monster who only knows how to win.

Me: What is your favourite race course to ride at and why?

Niall: Sandown. I had my first winner there for Gary and it’s a major track that the boss aims a lot of good horses, so I know if I’m going to ride one for him, it will probably have a chance at winning.

Me: What is your best advice for young people who have a passion they want to follow, whether it be racing or something else?

The best advice I was ever told was that you’ve got two ears and one mouth for a reason. If you have a passion for anything, you’ve got to follow it, but if you want to succeed at it, you’ve got to take all the advice you’re given.

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Firstly, a massive thank you to Niall for answering some questions for me. He has great potential to become a brilliant jockey and I cannot wait to follow his progress over the next few years.

I hope you enjoy reading as much as I have writing.