Amy Ryan - A Jockey’s Diary: Winners would be nice ahead of a Yorkshire triumph in the Derby

I’VE hit the crossbar a couple of times in recent days, so it would make for a great weekend to pick up a winner.
Amy RyanAmy Ryan
Amy Ryan

I had two second spots for horses trained by Richard Whitaker in West Yorkshire in the early part of the week.

Diamond Blue was just over a length second at Carlisle, while Avon Breeze didn’t quite manage to follow up her Ripon victory at Redcar.

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I have just the one ride today, at Catterick. The Red Arctic makes his racecourse debut for Cheshire trainer Lisa Williamson in the 3.30pm maiden race. Only a few of his opponents are experienced, so we’ll see how it goes from his wide draw in stall 10 of 11.

Tomorrow sees me in action at two tracks, Doncaster in the afternoon and Newcastle in the evening.

Rio’s Rosanna, who I’ve mentioned a few times in recent weeks, is one of my favourite horses.

Going into York last weekend, I thought she would have a very good chance because of the likelihood of some give in the ground. However, the overnight showers didn’t have as much effect on Knavesmire going as we would have hoped, so she was declared a non-runner.

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I am very hopeful that now that she has ground conditions to suit she will run well at Doncaster.

Rio’s Rosanna has done well at Donny before and, with a win at York to her credit last season as well as a nice run in defeat in the Betfred Jorvik Stakes during the Dante Festival, her overall form is decent.

My second ride of the afternoon is Lightning Cloud in the big seven-furlong handicap at 3.45pm.

He has course and distance winning form from 2011 and he will wear a tongue tie tomorrow for the first time.

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I’m optimistic about his chances when he faces his 15 opponents. He opened his account with a third place at Thirsk this season – that was a very promising run – before finishing mid-division in the Victoria Cup at Ascot, a race in which he had been fifth 12 months before. Admittedly, he’s not the easiest of rides, but he has ability. He goes into the starting stalls late and he also has to be produced late in his races because he doesn’t like to be in front too soon.

After that race, I’ll be back in the Doncaster weighing room just in time to catch the Investec Derby.

I love the Derby; it’s always a cracking race, so exciting.

Dawn Approach is the stand-out colt in the 12-strong field. If he stays one-and-a-half miles around Epsom Downs, undoubtedly he will take some beating. I liked the way that Libertarian ran when he won the Betfred Dante Stakes at York – always a good yardstick for the Derby – quite a few recent winners on Knavesmire have gone on to do well at Epsom.

It would be lovely to see a horse trained in Yorkshire win the Investec Derby again. It hasn’t happened for a long time – in fact since Dante back in 1945. After watching the Derby, I’m off to Newcastle Racecourse where I have rides at 7.40pm and 8.10pm.

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Monthly Medal won at Nottingham on his penultimate start last year. At 11, Dan’s Heir is very much a veteran. I rode him into third spot at Catterick last autumn. Both are making their seasonal debuts tomorrow.

The next racing at York Racecourse is on Friday, June 14 and Saturday, June 15.

Saturday features not only the Charity Sprint Trophy, the most valuable sprint handicap for three-year-old horses in Europe, and the Queen Mother’s Cup, but also the Macmillan Charity Race contested by amateur riders raising money for charity.

Gates are open from 11.15am, with first race times of 2pm and 2.05pm respectively. On the day admission ranges from £5 to £24 on the Friday and £7 to £36 on the Saturday. As always, accompanied Under-16s have free admission.

More information can be found online at www.yorkracecourse.co.uk or by calling the racecourse on 01904 620911.