There are of course many champions of racing. Just yesterday we saw the shock retirement of Four-time champion jump jockey Richard Johnson – a man who amassed a mind boggling 3500+ career wins and was much loved and respected by all in racing. Despite of all those wins though, and two Cheltenham Gold Cup victories, a Grand National win eluded him. Does that make him any less of a champion though? Of course not.
I feel similarly about Katie Walsh. In the above Betway Racing video Walsh explains not only how she holds the women’s record for placing third in the Grand National in 2012 (and has ridden three winners at the Cheltenham Festival), but also details the hard fought efforts across decades to carve out a place for women in racing. For me, her ‘champion’ status clearly also involves championing the well overdo recognition of woman in the sport, and in the Grand National itself. In this years Aintree Grand National three women take part (a joint record), and I’m sure that it’s only a matter of time before one of them is first past the post. Tune in on April 10th!