How a chance phone call led to jockey Jason Watson winning a glittering prize in Bahrain

An inquisitive O’Meara, a canny former jump jockey, was intrigued why the 2018 champion apprentice was not being used by his main trainer Roger Charlton.

“He called Tony Hind, my agent at the time, and asked how come Jason Watson wasn’t riding so much,” the 20-year-old jockey told The Yorkshire Post.

“My agent said it was difficult at the time and I then started to ride a few horses for Mr O’Meara and it kind of took off from there.”

The undoubted highlight came last month when Watson won the valuable Bahrain International Trophy, worth over £260,000 to the winner, on former Royal Ascot hero Lord Glitters – now one of the Flat’s most popular horses.

Though Watson won a Group One contest during a tough spell with the aforementioned Charlton that began when he suffered neck and spinal injuries in a heavy fall at Kempton in January 2019, and ended this summer amid a loss of form and confidence, the success of Lord Glitters is, by far, the most significant to date.

He was riding out at O’Meara’s Upper Helmsley stables, where regular rider Danny Tudhope is currently on the injury sidelines, when asked if he wanted to ride the grey who runs in the colours of Sandra Turnbull and her late husband Geoff. “I was riding out and went in for breakfast when David asked if I fancied a trip to Bahrain. I wasn’t going to say no,” said Watson.

He knew, from the horse’s previous form, that Lord Glitters needed to be held up before producing a late burst of speed. He also knew he had the ability to pull off such a ride – the question was whether he had the confidence to do so after a lean time.

Watson timed the winning run of Lord Glitters to perfection – racegoers watching TV footage on the big screen at Catterick cheered in appreciation. What was just as instructive to the rider however, was the time that he spent in Bahrain with O’Meara and his new agent Chris Dixon, the respected Racing TV form pundit. “It was a good team effort,” he stressed. “Lord Glitters is an older horse and only has one way of being ridden. How we were going to ride him wasn’t complicated; it was just hoping things would pan out.

“When I crossed the line, it was an unbelievable feeling and, to be honest, it took a while for the win to sink in and me to realise that I was still capable of producing the goods in the big races. I’d had some spins in bigger races earlier in the year, but nothing close to winning. This has given me so much confidence.”

Watson’s initial rise through the racing ranks had been meteoric – he rode two winners in 2017 before becoming champion apprentice the following year, including a Stewards’ Cup success at Goodwood on Hugo Palmer’s Gifted Master. He then appeared to have the racing world at his feet by becoming stable jockey to the aforementioned Charlton, a former Derby-winning trainer, and the chance to don the silks of, amongst others, the late Prince Khalid Abdullah.

And while Quadrilateral’s Group One success in the 2019 Fillies’ Mile at Newmarket was a highlight, she was a beaten favourite in last year’s 1000 Guineas as Watson began to encounter the first loss of form in his career. By this summer, the split was inevitable “Racing is tricky and fickle. If you go into racing thinking there isn’t this side of it, you are a bit naive,” he reflected. “It’s not easy. It’s just the way it worked out – the way it was.”

Yet, as well as learning from this experience, Watson has set his sights on becoming this winter’s all weather champion after deciding to shun warmer climes for the chance to build up his contacts. He’s fulsome in his praise for O’Meara – he says it is preferable to ride for trainers who have ridden previously because they understand the tactical side of a sport that requires split-second decisions – and that his new agent “isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and pick up the phone”.

And Watson is hopeful that he can improve on both the quantity – and quality – of his winners in 2022 following this unexpected and unlikely second chance. “I’ve been very lucky to land on my feet with Mr O’Meara,” he added.

“I am very grateful for the support of the trainers and owners that have stuck by me. They have given me the opportunity to get back and I have to thank them all, and my family, who have been a great support.”