Who will be crowned Champion?
Lingfield Park is arguably the busiest racecourse in the UK, playing host to a variety of racing all year round, with the ability to hold flat and jump racing on the turf and flat racing on the all-weather. This Saturday, it will be the venue for the Final of the 2018/19 Apprentice All-Weather Hands and Heels Series. The race is sure to hotly contested, mirroring the series itself.
Mark Crehan, apprentice to Richard Hannon, is currently leading the series on 46 points. Mark is just 7 points clear of Phil McEntee’s apprentice: daughter Grace McEntee. Mark has rode in 6 of the 8 races in the series so far, and is due to line up again on Saturday with a provisional booking among the 14 entries.
Mark’s points have been accumulated throughout the series thanks to his consistency of good course walking, professionalism, riding and presentation practice. His latest success in the series came on board the Mick Appleby trained Lion Hearted on 24th January, for which he earned 13 points to propel him in to a clear lead. Other riders in the series (please see below) have also shown a huge commitment throughout the winter riding in at least 4 of the series’ races so far.
The competition, which has been running since November 2018, puts young jockeys through their paces over a series of races where they are marked on;
Course walking
Presentation
Riding
Professionalism
Place points
This series is designed for riders who have not ridden more than 10 winners before the series starting. They are to carry a whip but not wave or use the whip, otherwise this may prove to be costly.