The 2023 racing season in Britain is nearing the half-way mark with the jockey and trainer titles very much up for grabs.
The Flat Jockeys Championship is decided on winners of both Flat and All-Weather races taking place from the Guineas Festival on 6th May to British Champions Day at Ascot on 21st October.
Oisin Murphy will be keen to get his title back (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
William Buick, the defending champion, has been churning out the winners over the past fortnight. His hot streak totals 16 wins from his last 55 rides and he is now in pole position to lift his second jockey’s title.
Two weeks ago, after a quiet Royal Ascot for Buick, veteran Joe Fanning was the unlikely leader in the jockeys’ title race, with Oisin Murphy second after a strong start to the season in his quest to regain his crown he lost while serving his lengthy 14-month suspension.
However, Buick has hit back in great style with wins for nine different trainers in the last fortnight, the majority for Appleby despite the season’s major prizes so far eluding the Godolphin powerhouse.
Buick now holds the advantage from Murphy although it seems certain to swing back and forth over the next few months.
We could be in for a repeat of the 2021 battle between the pair, when the title went to the wire, and they could both continue to dominate for some time to come.
Officially, after Monday’s racing William Buick leads Oisin Murphy 47 to 42 with Joe Fanning now dropping into joint-third on 38 victories with Hollie Doyle and Tom Marquand.
The Trainers Championship in Britain is judged on total prize money won from New Year’s Day to 31 December.
Reigning champion Charlie Appleby has had a poor start to the season by his lofty standards and is currently in sixth position, just over £2 million behind father and son combination of John and Thady Gosden who lead with £3,484,242 courtesy of 64 wins and 136 placings.
Irish champion trainer Aidan O’Brien trails by £312,000, an incredible stat considering his stakes have been achieved from only 55 runners.
Successful raids to marquee events at the top British tracks have yielded 12 victories and 26 placings including star three-year-old Paddington following up on his victory in the St James’s Palace Stakes at the royal meeting with success in the Coral Eclipse at Sandown over the weekend.
UK Racing on Wednesday 12 July:
| UK | ||||
| Yarmouth | 14:45 | pm | 7 | Horseracing |
| Catterick | 15:40 | pm | 7 | Horseracing |
| Lingfield | 16:00 | pm | 6 | Horseracing |
| Kempton | 19:00 | pm | 7 | Horseracing |
| Bath | 19:10 | pm | 6 | Horseracing |
