Jo Mason interview: Mick Easterby's granddaughter eyes Go Racing in Yorkshire Festival's jockeys crown

Born into racing royalty in Malton, there are few grander prizes for rising star Jo Mason to land than top jockey at the Go Racing in Yorkshire Festival.

The granddaughter of Mick Easterby certainly has her sights set on it. She opened the festival with a full card of seven rides at Pontefract last night and heads down the A1 to Doncaster today with a slightly lighter workload but one that gives her every chance of scooping the SkyBet cash prize come next Saturday, when the eight-day, eight-track, 10-meeting celebration of summer racing in Yorkshire concludes at York.

“I could have won it a couple of years ago,” laments the 34-year-old who only turned professional in the Covid summer after a long amateur career. “I think I was leading it for the majority of the week, but then didn’t have any winners so got overtaken by the end of it.

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“But look it’s a great week to be involved with, every day is on your doorstep, the competition and the camaraderie between everyone is really special and it’s a brilliant week’s racing.”

In the saddle: Jockey Jo Mason pictured at Thirsk Racecourse where she hopes this week to land the Go Racing in Yorkshire Festival's top jockey prize. (Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe)In the saddle: Jockey Jo Mason pictured at Thirsk Racecourse where she hopes this week to land the Go Racing in Yorkshire Festival's top jockey prize. (Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe)
In the saddle: Jockey Jo Mason pictured at Thirsk Racecourse where she hopes this week to land the Go Racing in Yorkshire Festival's top jockey prize. (Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe)

Despite being born into a racing family, it took Mason a long time to realise that being a jockey would be her career calling.

“I probably didn’t have a choice in the matter,” she smiles.

“Born and bred into racing, my grandad is Mick Easterby, my dad trained point to pointers, my cousin rode point to pointers and is now retired.

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“I went and did a Masters in sports nutrition to try something different and then ended up being pulled back into it. But I do love it.”

Thirsk Racecourse hosts a leg of the Go Racing in Yorkshire Summer Festival next Friday (Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe)Thirsk Racecourse hosts a leg of the Go Racing in Yorkshire Summer Festival next Friday (Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe)
Thirsk Racecourse hosts a leg of the Go Racing in Yorkshire Summer Festival next Friday (Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe)

Mason rode as an amateur for a long time before the restrictions on unpaid riders on the return to racing amid the Covid pandemic, forced her hand.

“I was champion twice, but then when Covid struck and amateurs couldn’t ride I decided to turn professional, and I’ve not looked back since,” Mason tells The Yorkshire Post in-between rides at Thirsk on Wednesday.

“This is my fourth or fifth season now riding professionally, I’m consistently in the top end of 30, 40-odd winners and the aim this year is to get over 50 and I’m already on 43.

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“I’m currently in my season’s best and long may it continue.”

A flat jockey by choice, she faced a huge turning point in her life in 2016 when she broke her back point-to-pointing.

“I was very close to not being able to ride again,” she admits.

“I did my T8 and T9, I had a compression fracture as well, it was very close to my spinal chord. I was actually on my back for five days before they could operate because it was so close to my spinal chord.

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“Back then, it wasn’t so much that I was under-appreciative of the severity of it, being knocked out and away the fairies, but looking back now and going well season by season, I appreciate how lucky I was to come away with just eight pins and two rods in my back.”

Riding every day, an injury like that is something she cannot allow to enter her head.

The charity that this week’s Go Racing in Yorkshire Summer Festival is supporting is the Matt Hampson Foundation, a Leicestershire based organisation, which continues to help Graham Lee in his rehabilitation from serious injury.

“It can’t be in the back of my mind,” says Mason. “You see things like what happened to Graham Lee, a fall like that can happen any day.

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“You’ve got to think how lucky you are and that it’s so sad for their family, you wouldn’t wish it upon anybody.

“It’s great that the Festival supports Graham with the paddock and chips and the charity race here at Thirsk next week, supporting the foundation is a great cause and very close to the jockeys hearts.”

After meetings at Doncaster and Ripon today and Redcar tomorrow, the Festival sweeps through Beverley on Monday, Catterick on Wednesday, back to Doncaster on Thursday, Thirsk on Friday and then two meetings at York on Friday and Saturday to close it.

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