A young apprentice jockey will attempt to become the first female rider to win
C.J. Watson Authentic Jersey the Derby on Saturday but the chance to make history will belong to Ana O’Brien, who will ride The Anvil for her father, Aidan, and not Gina Mangan, whose hopes of riding the 1,000-1 outsider Diore Lia were dashed by the British Horseracing Authority on Wednesday evening. Ana will join her brother Donnacha in the Derby, which was twice won by their older brother Joseph, in 2012 and 2014, before weight problems forced his early retirement. Donnacha will ride Venice Beach, who finished one and a quarter lengths and a nose in front of The Anvil in the Chester Vase last month, while Wings Of Eagles, the horse that split them on the Roodee, will be ridden by Padraig Beggy. Talking Horses: Gina Mangan 'crying up in the yard' after being barred from Derby Read more As expected, Ryan Moore, the trainer’s principal jockey, will take the mount on Cliffs Of Moher, the winner of the Dee Stakes at Chester’s May Festival, while his six-strong team will be completed by Capri (Seamie Heffernan) and Douglas Macarthur (Colm O’Donoghue). Ana O’Brien will be the first woman to ride in the Derby since Hayley Turner, who finished last of nine behind Camelot in 2012 on the 25-1 chance Cavaleiro. She will also be only the third to ride in the Classic in its long history after Turner and Alex Greaves, who also finished last when she rode Portuguese Lil, at 500-1, in 1996. Like Mangan, who was denied the chance to ride Diore Lia owing to her inexperience, Ana O’Brien has never ridden
http://www.officialmagicstoreonline.com/Cj_Wilcox_Jersey at Epsom, and she will be riding in Britain for only the fourth time in her career. O’Brien has vastly more overall racing experience than Mangan, having ridden 58 winners since taking her first ride in 2012. Mangan has only a solitary success to her name, at Roscommon in 2009. The Anvil, a son of the 2001 Derby winner Galileo, is top-priced at 50-1 for the Derby, which has not been won by a horse at double-figure odds since High-Rise’s success at 20-1 in 1998. Cracksman, from John Gosden’s stable in Newmarket, is the joint-favourite for the race with Cliffs Of Moher at around 9-2, and the 19-strong field will be the largest for the Classic since Kris Kin defeated 19 others in 2003. Advertisement Saturday’s field will also include Diore Lia, whose owner, Richard Aylward, had suggested on Wednesday the horse could be scratched as a result of Mangan being denied the ride. The apprentice, who is attached to the yard of Diore Lia’s trainer John Jenkins, had initially been told by the BHA there was no reason why she should not take part at Epsom but the regulator performed a U-turn, telling Aylward it would not accept Mangan’s declaration to ride. Aylward reconsidered his too, moreover, and decided to declare the lowly rated filly
Tony Phillips Youth Jersey and she will be ridden by another apprentice, Paddy Pilley. He has had 34 winners and has raced at Epsom four times, including two rides over the full Derby trip of 12 furlongs. The owner said he hopes to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital via Diore Lia’s run in the Derby, and will donate any prize money to the cause in the unlikely event that Diore Lia finishes in the first six. “Poor old Gina is badly scarred from what the BHA have done to her. She’s in a terrible mess and can’t work or anything,” Aylward, who also bred the filly, said on Thursday. “Our story needs telling because I’ve been left very, very upset about what has gone on and I feel so sorry for Gina. “The Queen is a patron of Great Ormond Street Hospital and it’s my intention to speak to her about what has happened when she comes in the parade ring before the Derby. We’ve had contributions from as far away as America for our charity, and we’re hoping it will now take off because of all this that has gone on.” The BHA’s decision to exclude Mangan from the Derby found support on Thursday from Moore, a dual winner of the Classic, and the riders’ trade body, the Professional Jockeys’ Association. Moore told his blog, on the Betfair website, the BHA had “done the right thing by the horse … and while Gina Mangan may not appreciate it at the moment, they have done the right thing by the jockey, too”. The PJA said in a statement that the BHA had been in an “unenviable” position but had taken the right decision. “I have spoken to Gina this morning and she is obviously very disappointed,” Paul Struthers, the PJA chief executive, said. “She was very much looking forward to the opportunity having read there
http://www.officialathleticshop.com/authentic-7-walt-weiss-jersey.html was no barrier to her participation. Her reaction to the disappointment was admirable and the attitude she has shown will no doubt stand her in good stead as she pursues her career as jockey. “We have enormous sympathy for Gina and the position she has found herself in, having been thrust into the spotlight. Yet we also recognise there were concerns raised by other PJA members about such an inexperienced jockey, with no previous experience of riding at Epsom, taking the mount on an outclassed horse in the biggest, arguably most important, flat race of the year. “The BHA were in an unenviable position and in the circumstances we believe they have taken the right decision, albeit in hindsight it would have been far preferable not to have given Gina the public green light to ride earlier in the week
