Oct
10
Jockeys and their Superstitions
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Gen Wright asked:
ell known fact that jockeys are notorious for their superstitions and rituals, and this is definitely true of the jockeys who race in the Grand National. It must be pointed out that it is not just jockeys that have superstitions ? a lot of sportsmen and women have them. David Beckham for example is a self confessed sufferer of Obsessive Compulsive Behaviour, who practises his shots again and again, and has to have everything in a straight line or in pairs! So jockeys are just one of the many sportsmen and women who are prone to this kind of obsessive behaviour.A prime example in the horseracing world is Graham Thorner, who after winning the Grand National in 1972 on Well to Do, chose to wear the same pair of underpants for every race he ever competed in from that point on. They eventually became so disintegrated that he had to wear another pair over them to stop them from falling down!When **** Saunders won the National in 1982 on Grittar he made sure himself and his wife were wearing the exact same outfits as they had worn when travelling to Aintree the previous year for the Fox Hunters’ Chase. Mick Fitzgerald always thought of number 7 as his lucky number, and it was indeed true that Rough Quest was No 7 when he won the Grand National. Timmy Murphy always dons his right boot before his left one, while John Buckingham who rode the Grand National winner Foinavon always takes care to wave at magpies. Timmy Murphy who won the National on Lord Gyllene never leaves the weighing room first!It’s not just the jockeys who have superstitions ? owners, relations of the riders and trainers are also prone to a bit of superstition. Noel Furlong, the owner and trainer of Reynoldstown, when on his way to the race at Aintree in 1935 passed a funeral en route. Reynoldstown won the race and legend has it that the following year Furlong drove around Liverpool looking for a funeral procession. It worked as Reynoldstown won again, as Davy Jones who looked extremely likely to win, had run out at the last minute as the buckle on his reins broke.In 1985 Richard Dunwoody rode West Tip at his first National and fell at Becher’s Brook. His parents who had attended the race decided that they had brought bad luck upon him and never went to the National again! Maybe their ruse worked as he went on to establish himself as an exceptional record in the National.The majority of the jockeys who win at the National will insist on having the same peg in the changing room for the rest of their racing career. However the most superstitious of all people involved in the Grand National is Jim Lewis ? when his Best Mate was due to run in the Gold Cup he would not leave his home until he found a vehicle registration plate that added up to 25. And when Best Mate scored his 3rd successive Gold Cup, Lewis insisted on travelling by the same route, carrying his lucky knitted black cat and wearing his lucky black overcoat with Aston Villa tie and scarf!
AUGUST
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ell known fact that jockeys are notorious for their superstitions and rituals, and this is definitely true of the jockeys who race in the Grand National. It must be pointed out that it is not just jockeys that have superstitions ? a lot of sportsmen and women have them. David Beckham for example is a self confessed sufferer of Obsessive Compulsive Behaviour, who practises his shots again and again, and has to have everything in a straight line or in pairs! So jockeys are just one of the many sportsmen and women who are prone to this kind of obsessive behaviour.A prime example in the horseracing world is Graham Thorner, who after winning the Grand National in 1972 on Well to Do, chose to wear the same pair of underpants for every race he ever competed in from that point on. They eventually became so disintegrated that he had to wear another pair over them to stop them from falling down!When **** Saunders won the National in 1982 on Grittar he made sure himself and his wife were wearing the exact same outfits as they had worn when travelling to Aintree the previous year for the Fox Hunters’ Chase. Mick Fitzgerald always thought of number 7 as his lucky number, and it was indeed true that Rough Quest was No 7 when he won the Grand National. Timmy Murphy always dons his right boot before his left one, while John Buckingham who rode the Grand National winner Foinavon always takes care to wave at magpies. Timmy Murphy who won the National on Lord Gyllene never leaves the weighing room first!It’s not just the jockeys who have superstitions ? owners, relations of the riders and trainers are also prone to a bit of superstition. Noel Furlong, the owner and trainer of Reynoldstown, when on his way to the race at Aintree in 1935 passed a funeral en route. Reynoldstown won the race and legend has it that the following year Furlong drove around Liverpool looking for a funeral procession. It worked as Reynoldstown won again, as Davy Jones who looked extremely likely to win, had run out at the last minute as the buckle on his reins broke.In 1985 Richard Dunwoody rode West Tip at his first National and fell at Becher’s Brook. His parents who had attended the race decided that they had brought bad luck upon him and never went to the National again! Maybe their ruse worked as he went on to establish himself as an exceptional record in the National.The majority of the jockeys who win at the National will insist on having the same peg in the changing room for the rest of their racing career. However the most superstitious of all people involved in the Grand National is Jim Lewis ? when his Best Mate was due to run in the Gold Cup he would not leave his home until he found a vehicle registration plate that added up to 25. And when Best Mate scored his 3rd successive Gold Cup, Lewis insisted on travelling by the same route, carrying his lucky knitted black cat and wearing his lucky black overcoat with Aston Villa tie and scarf!
AUGUST