Tag: peter scudamore

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.

Did John Francome ever win the Grand National?

In his 16-year riding career, John Francome was British Champion Jump Jockey seven times, including the title he shared with Peter Scudamore in 1981/82, and notched up 1,138 winners. However, despite contesting the Grand National on ten occasions, he never won the celebrated steeplechase.

The young Francome made his debut in the National in 1972, aboard Cardinal Error, trained by his boss, Fred Winter. The eight-year-old had already won four steeplechases that year and was sent of 12/1 joint-second favourite at Aintree, but refused as early as the third fence. In 1976, Francome famously turned down the ride on the eventual winner, Rag Trade – whom he had described as the ‘most horrible horse’ he had ridden after finishing tenth, and last, in 1975 – in favour of the lesser-fancied Golden Rapper, again trained by Winter. Golden Rapper led approaching Becher’s Brook on the second circuit, but took a terrible fall and Francome woke up in the Walton Centre in Fazakerley. Francome did manage to finish a close third, beaten just 1½ lengths, behind Rubstic and Zongalero in the 1979 renewal and a remote second, beaten 20 lengths, behind Ben Nevis on the same horse in 1980, but that was the close as he came to winning the National.