Who was the first female jockey to ride a winner at the Cheltenham Festival?

To avoid any confusion, the first female jockey to ride a winner against professional jockeys at the Cheltenham Festival was Gee Armytage, who partnered The Ellier, trained by Nigel Tinkler, to victory in the Kim Muir Challenge Cup – in the days before the name of Fulke Walwyn was added to the race title – in 1987. Indeed, that same year, the 21-year-old Armytage also won the Mildmayof Flete Challenge Cup – now the Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable Plate – on Gee-A, trained by Geoff Hubbard; she actually came agonisngly close to winning the leading jockey award, eventually losing out on countback to reigning champion jockey Peter Scudamore by virtue of having ridden fewer second- and third-placed horses. However, the first female jockey to ride a winner, of any description, at the Cheltenham Festival was amateur rider Caroline Robinson (née Beasley) who rode her own horse, Eliogarty, to win the Christie’s Foxhunter Chase – now the St. James’s Place Foxhunter Chase – in 1983.

Which is the most valuable horse race in the world?

Notwithstanding its last-minute cancellation in 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Dubai World Cup – run over 2,000 metres, or about 10 furlongs, at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates – was, until recently, the most valuable horse race in the world. The Dubai World Cup carries a purse of $12 million, or £10.3 million but, in 2020, was surpassed by the newly-created Saudi Cup. The Saudi Cup is run over a slightly shorter distance than the Dubai World Cup, 1,800 metres, or about nine furlongs, at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh and has total prize money of $20 million, or £15.5 million. For the record, the inaugural running of the Saudi Cup was won by Maximum Security, who was disqualified for interference after winning the Kentucky Derby in 2019, but received ample recompense in the form of the $10 million, or £8.3 million, winning prize money.

When was the Commonwealth Cup inaugurated?

The Commonwealth Cup was inaugurated in 2015, when it became the eighth Group One race to be contested at Royal Ascot. Run over a distance of 6 furlongs, the Commonwealth Cup is restricted to three-year-olds, including geldings, making it the only race of its kind to be run anywhere in Europe. Indeed, at the time of its inauguration, the conditions of the other Group One sprint run at Royal Ascot, the Diamond Jubilee Stakes – established, as the All-Aged Stakes, in 1868 – were changed to exclude three-year-olds.

The Commonwealth Cup was included in the Royal Ascot programme at the expense of the Buckingham Palace Stakes, a valuable 7-furlong handicap restricted to three-year-olds, which was first run in 2002; at that point, the Saturday meeting, formerly known as ‘Ascot Heath’, was officially incorporated into the Royal Meeting, by way of celebrating the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Thus, the Buckingham Palace Stakes was not run between 2015 and 2019, much to the displeasure of some experts, but was reinstated, possibly as a one-off, as one of six additional races added to the Royal Ascot programme in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

How many jockeys have been killed in the Grand National?

The first ‘official’ Grand National was run at Aintree Racecourse in 1839 and, in 172 runnings since, the celebrated steeplechase has claimed the life of one jockey. The tragedy occurred on March 12, 1862, long before safety equipment, such as helmets and body protection, became compulsory and in the absence of adequate medical care.

The ill-fated horseman was Joseph Wynne, the son of former Grand National-winning jockey Denis ‘Denny’ Wynne, who died after suffering fatal injuries when parting company with his mount, O’Connell, at The Chair. The Chair, at a height of 5’3” and preceded by a 6’ open ditch, was, and still is, a formidable obstacle. However, the villain of the piece was one of his rivals, Playmate, who overjumped and fell. This caused a ‘concertina’ effect, as a result of which both jockeys, O’Connell and another rival, Willoughby, both came to grief. To make matters worse, Playmate stumbled and fell, riderless, on top of Wynne, who was lying unconscious on the ground.

Wynne was still alive, albeit with a crushed sternum, or breastbone, when carried to the Sefton Arms Inn – now the Red Rum Bar & Grill – near the entrance to Aintree Racecourse, but died at eight o’clock that evening without ever regaining consciousness. He undoubtedly died of his injuries but, at the subsequent inquest in his cause of death, pulmonary tuberculosis, a.k.a. ‘consumption’, was identified as a contributory factor. As such, since the first Grand National in 1839 only one jockey has lost his life in the race. Over that time though, and as of 2024, 90 horses have died during the Grand National, which has understandably resulted in welfare concerns and smaller fields (down from 40 runners to 34).

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