STAR Ryedale apprentice Jack Garritty is making full use of Jack Berry House as he aims to return to the saddle in double quick time after breaking his collar-bone at York’s Dante Festival earlier this month.

Garritty is receiving treatment from Gemma Darley, the physiotherapist at the recently opened Injured Jockeys’ Fund rehabilitation centre, and is also using the hydrotherapy pool and the extensively equipped gymnasium, where conditioning coach Danny Hague is working with him to regain strength and full movement in his shoulder and also to maintain his fitness levels.

“It’s great to have a place like Jack Berry House up and running to help get back riding as soon as possible,” said Garritty, who underwent additional physio at Redcar racecourse on Monday.

No sooner had he reduced his claim to the minimum 3lb allowance than Garritty was in the wars at York. He was unseated soon after leaving the parade ring from the unruly Jim Goldie-trained Sir Chauvelin, who also injured his stable lass before careering down the course before his rider had managed to get his feet in his stirrups.

“My collar bone was luckily a clean break,” said Garritty, who turned to his father, former leading Ryedale jump jockey, Russ, for advice to ensure the quickest of comebacks.

“Dad immediately recommended I wear a figure-of-eight bandage around my shoulders to keep the collar bone in position, and I think that has been a big help in my recovery.

“Things are going well now,” added Garritty, who is aiming to be back in the saddle soon.

A cycle ride in aid of Jack Berry House is taking place tomorrow (Thursday) with the start and finish at Wetherby racecourse.

Cyclists, riding for a minimum sponsorship of £25, can ride to up to three other racecourses - at York, Thirsk and Ripon - and will receive free entry at a forthcoming Wetherby evening meeting as a thank you.

A bicycle will also be ridden by a variety of people around the parade ring between races during tomorrow’s evening fixture at Wetherby with a charity raffle set up to estimate the distance travelled throughout the night.

Racing, meanwhile, returns to York on Saturday for a seven-race programme, highlighted by the £50,000 titanbet.co.uk Spring Sprint, in which in-form Norton apprentice Sammy Jo Bell will bid to add to her impressive strike-rate on Arctic Feeling.

 

• RACHEL RICHARDSON is only two winners short of reducing her claim to 5lb after riding her first ever double at Beverley last Saturday.

The Filey-born apprentice, who is attached to Tim Easterby’s Great Habton yard, scored for her boss on 15-8 favourite Maven in the fillies’ handicap and followed up aboard 5-1 shot King Of The Celts, who carries the colours of Dadie Oughtred, a Beverley racecourse director for more than 30 years.

“It was brilliant, unbelievable to ride a double,” said a delighted Richardson, who adopted different tactics on both her winners. She made all the running on the in-foal Maven, who held on grittily by a neck to record her first success of the campaign before riding a more patient race on King Of The Celts, who did not strike the front until the final furlong on his first outing of 2015.

With Tim Easterby on duty at Catterick, where he was also on the mark with Breakable, the trainer was represented by his father, Peter, who said: “Maven has been getting caught in her races, so we told Rachel to hang on to her a little in front and ride her to get home. She rode her well.”

Receiving praise from a legend of the game such as Easterby senior is something to savour. And there was more to come. He added: “It’s grand for Rachel to ride a couple of winners. She’s got great hands. You can put her on anything at home. She’s different class.”

Barry McHugh was also among the winners at Beverley. Despite failing to cut much ice aboard the unplaced Guinness in the Donkey Derby which preceded the meeting, the Norton jockey had better luck when winning the opener on Tony Coyle’s Taffeta.

It proved a productive week for McHugh, who was also on the mark aboard Mark Rimell’s Overlord at Nottingham, where George Chaloner scored on Patrick for Richard Fahey and fellow Malton jockey David Nolan completed a double on Shahdaroba for David O’Meara and the David Menusier-trained Slunovrat.

 

• BRIAN ELLISON’S long-time quest to win the Northumberland Plate - the ‘Pitmens’ Derby - could finally be realised this year after two of his horses highlighted their chances of claiming Newcastle’s premier staying race at Haydock last Saturday.

Seamour and Totalize completed a 1-2 for Ellison in the Betfred Handicap to book their tickets to Gosforth Park on the last Saturday of June for a £140,000 race which has always been special to the Norton trainer. He was born on Northumberland Plate day in 1952.

“Seamour is a good horse and had always looked like he wanted two miles, while Totalize ran a blinder considering he had been off for so long with a joint problem,” said Ellison. “They will both go straight for the ‘Plate’, as will Montefeltro (ninth in Saturday’s race). We have five or six for the race this year and I hope we have our best chance of winning it.”

 

• FRIENDS of former top northern racereader Alan Amies, who died last autumn, have clubbed together and purchased an inscribed memorial bench, which will be situated outside the weighing room door at Thirsk racecourse.

The presentation of the bench will be made during Thirsk’s meeting today (Wednesday), with Libby Amies, Alan’s widow, and family doing the honours.

Amies, who lived near Gilling and was a popular member of Gilling Golf Club, worked for Raceform for more than 30 years. The inscription on the bench reads, ‘ “Double-A” – the finest of racereaders, the best of friends.’ lllll ANYONE interested in local racing history will doubtless be interested to learn that a leather bound photograph album, created especially for legendary Ryedale trainer John Scott, is to be sold at auction in London next month.

The album contains more than 40 hand-tinted albumen prints of jockeys in their racing silks and features leading 19th century riders, George Fordham, John Wells and Tommy Ashmall.

Scott sent out the winners of a record 40 Classics from his Norton base between 1827 and 1863, his haul made up of 16 St Leger victories, plus eight Oaks, seven 2,000 Guineas, five wins in the Derby and four in the 1,000 Guineas.

The trainer’s album is a star lot in Chiswick Auctions Fine Art Sale on June 9.

Details can be obtained by phoning Jill Lorimer on 0208 992 4442.