Bullseye: Rob Hornby's July Festival joy warranted after turbulent two years

Rob Hornby’s relentless charge up the jockey ranks has been a joy to behold. Since he had a slice of his shoulder removed following an horrific accident at the end of 2020, it’s been a whirlwind ride for the now dual Group 1-winning pilot. 

His double at the highest level last week was unsurprising for those of us who have followed his career closely - in reality, it was bound to happen sooner rather than later given his talent.

In those two performances, Hornby showcased why he’s shoulder-charging some of the biggest names aside in the battle to be top of the tree. His belligerence won the day on Prosperous Voyage, a filly who takes some stoking up and can require brute force from the saddle, while on Alcohol Free it was his patience before the pounce - he nudged and caressed her into contention before a wicked final furlong burst saw Hornby fist pump over the line. 

Hornby is a graduate of the ‘Andrew Balding Boot Camp for Aspiring Jockeys’, a school that has also seen William Buick, Oisin Murphy and David Probert pass through with flying colours in recent years. Early triumphs aboard Balding’s Morando (St Simon Stakes, 2018) and on Technician (Geoffrey Freer, 2019) marked him out as a rider worth his salt, but it was on the ill-fated Scope in last year’s Prix Royal-Oak in which the wider sporting world cottoned on to his talents. 

Ralph Beckett’s plucky performer had stamina to prove on rain-softened ground but Hornby positioned him perfectly in third place, where he could receive a tow from those in front. When asked to quicken, Scope answered every call and clearly benefited from racing so close to the pace. Meanwhile, Skazino exerted too much energy trying to move up the order from the rear.

It was a ride of poise and maturity from a man whose experience then at the top level was negligible. That maturity has been borne out in other ways since, most notably when he received the call that he wouldn’t be riding Westover in the Irish Derby. Losing big race rides is commonplace in British racing, but that doesn’t mean swallowing the reality is any easier.

Prosperous Voyage (pink and green): won the Falmouth Stakes under Rob Hornby

Hornby would have been exceptionally miffed - who wouldn’t be? - but he brushed it off and wished Colin Keane the best of luck. In the end, such was Westover’s superiority that it’s unlikely that riding arrangements would have made a difference, and, as our outgoing leader would say, ‘them’s the breaks’. 

But it’s a sign of Hornby’s character that he’s since picked himself up and, just a couple of weeks later, landed the two biggest races of Newmarket’s July Cup meeting. Few riders can boast a CV with two Group 1 victories in a year, let alone a week.

Hornby’s thrust upwards is in keeping with the renaissance of the weighing room. Racing is a sport facing its share of problems, but the talent pool of Flat riders has never been more impressive than it is now. The tried-and-tested group of Frankie Dettori, Ryan Moore, Jim Crowley, William Buick and James Doyle are supported by Andrea Atzeni, Neil Callan, Silvestre De Sousa and David Probert. The North has, among many others, Paul Mulrennan, Danny Tudhope and Connor Beasley. But it’s the youth that’s really taking it to the next level.   

Tom Marquand and Hollie Doyle are, mad as it sounds, now towards the older end of the category. Cieren Fallon, Ray Dawson, Clifford Lee, Kevin Stott, David Egan and Callum Shepherd are all plying their trade with impressive results, and let’s not forget the two apprentices who’ve been taking the season by storm - Benoit De La Sayette and Harry Davies. And, of course, we can’t leave out the Derby winning rider Richard Kingscote, whose confidence in the saddle has never been higher.

However, it’s not all rosy. Riding has never been as dangerous as it is currently, and something clearly needs to be done to the rules. The outcome of the whip review will make for interesting reading, but that’s unlikely to have a bearing on the current trend which sees jockeys allowing their mounts to impede others without the fear of being penalised.  

In the last month alone we have seen Paul Hanagan drift across the Norfolk field at Royal Ascot; Jim Crowley block Rab Havlin’s path aboard Free Wind in the Lancashire Oaks, and Harry Davies impede Paul Mulrennan on Primo’s Comet at Doncaster. In the Free Wind incident, it was actually Havlin who was punished by the stewards. Inconsistencies from ruling bodies don’t help matters, but often the inconsistencies are there because the rules aren’t clear enough.  

Stricter penalties must be enforced where riders have not made enough of an effort to correct drift, or before long a situation like Hanagan’s at Ascot will turn sour. Of course, In some instances there needs to be leniency - Ray Dawson had his whip in the right hand while trying to correct Believe In Love’s drift in the Bronte Cup at York, for example - but contrast that with his ride on Mawj in the Duchess of Cambridge last week, where little attempt was made, and you might well have had an unsavoury outcome.  

Indeed, the fact Christophe Soumillon was given a 12-day ban for drifting across rivals while celebrating after the Eclipse had finished sums things up nicely. Hanagan was only given ten days for what was arguably a more dangerous incident during the race itself.

Such is the clamour coming from the racing ranks, it's likely in the coming months something will have to change. Most jurisdictions around the globe have significantly tougher penalties on dangerous riding, and it would be surprising and disappointing if the regulations weren’t tailored in the near future. The perfect world would be one in which we can enjoy the talents of all those listed above without controversy or danger. We can but dream.

Further Japanese success expected

Chelmsford has a couple of competitive Class 3 contests on Tuesday night, with the 1m2f feature coming at 7.20pm. Vulcan was an impressive victor at Newcastle when last seen but a 6lb rise on a different surface could find him out. This could be the time to catch Satono Japan.

Rather surprisingly, he’s not managed a victory since his debut back in October 2019 - a fact even more remarkable given he’s trained by Sir Michael Stoute, whose horses usually improve as they get older. However, he returned from a gelding operation with an excellent second behind Greatgadian in April and it’s possible that’s given him the little boost he needed.

He was also coming back off a break that day and performed with all the hallmarks of a horse in need of the run - he missed the break a touch, was outpaced and then stayed on when it was all too late. He’ll be fitter this time and the fact that he’s been kept in training suggests connections believe they can still get a win or two out of him. He’s nicely handicapped on old form and goes well at the track, so there’s plenty in his favour.

Recommended bet

Satono Japan (7.20 Kempton) @ 9