Benoit de la Sayette

Last updated

Benoit de la Sayette
Occupation Jockey
Racing awards
British flat racing Champion Apprentice
(2022)

Benoit de la Sayette is an English-born flat racing jockey, who was British flat racing Champion Apprentice in 2022. He has been apprentice to John Gosden and is also associated with the stables of David Menuisier and Kevin Philippart De Foy.

Contents

Career

De la Sayette is the son of Geoffroy de la Sayette, who rode about 250 winners in his native France [1] and was a work rider for Godolphin, partnering champion racehorse Swain in the mid-90s. [1] He was also a work rider for James Fanshawe and it was during a visit to the stables with his father that Benoit first sat on a racehorse properly. He also took part in pony racing and, while never a champion, it gave him a good grounding. His father sent him to France, more to learn the language than to race, but he spent five summers pony racing there and claimed that the style of racing in France, where the ponies are of a similar standard, taught him more than he would have learnt in England. [1]

Through his father's connection with the travelling head lad, he was able to get work experience at John Gosden's yard, after which he was invited to become his apprentice - the first apprentice that the trainer had hired in 30 years. [1] Before starting, he completed his GCSEs and completed a four week course at the British Racing School. [1]

His first five rides came during the COVID-affected season of 2020. His first was at Chelmsford in November. [1] and his first victory was on Hint Of Stars at Newcastle in December for Kevin Philippart De Foy. Afterwards, Fanshawe called him "a very serious kid who has very good hands when he rides. He's a top horseman and was born to be a top jockey." [2]

In 2021, he won 11 of his 44 races [3] including a first major success in the Lincoln Handicap - his first race on turf - riding Haqeeqy for Gosden, but he was banned for six months after failing a drugs test. [4]

He returned to riding in 2022 and took the Apprentice Championship after a close fought battle with Harry Davies, eventually coming out on top with 67 wins. His victories included wins on Trawlerman (for Gosden) and Caius Chorister (for Menuisier) at Glorious Goodwood [5] and the Victoria Cup at Ascot in May. [6]

He started 2023 in style, again taking the Lincoln Handicap, this time on Migration for Menuisier. [3] In May, he rode out his claim when he secured his 95th winner on Spit Spot at Chelmsford, winning the apprentice handicap by a head. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Richards (jockey)</span> English jockey

Sir Gordon Richards was an English jockey who was the British flat racing Champion Jockey 26 times, and is often considered the world's greatest jockey. He remains the only flat jockey to have been knighted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frankie Dettori</span> Italian jockey

Lanfranco "Frankie" Dettori, is an Italian jockey based in England. In a career spanning over 35 years, he has been British flat racing Champion Jockey three times and has ridden the winners of 287 Group 1 races including 23 winners of the British Classic Races. His most celebrated achievement was riding all seven winners on British Festival of Racing Day at Ascot Racecourse on 28 September 1996.

The flat racing Champion Jockey and Champion Apprentice titles are awarded annually to the jockey(s) and apprentice(s) respectively that have ridden the most winners in Great Britain during a set period or championship season. The set period has varied over time, originally covering the calendar year when all flat racing was held on turf between March and November. Later, all-weather races outside the turf season were excluded, and from 2015 the championship season was further shortened to exclude the start and end of the turf season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Gosden</span> British horse trainer

John Harry Martin Gosden is a British racehorse trainer. He has trained over 3,000 winners worldwide, including winners of the Breeders' Cup Classic, the Derby, the Arc, the King George, the Eclipse. He has over 600 winners in the United States.

James Joseph Fortune is a retired Irish thoroughbred jockey who in a 30-year career won over 1,800 races, including 16 Group 1s, and 1 British Classic, the 2007 St Leger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Queally</span> Irish jockey

Tom Queally is an Irish flat racing jockey based in Britain. He rode Frankel in his unbeaten 14-race career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davy Condon</span>

Davy Condon is an Irish National hunt racing jockey in Great Britain and Ireland. Condon’s father, Michael Condon, was an amateur jockey. His father rode for Jimmy Murphy and Charles Byrnes, but a fall that left him in a coma cut his career short with just one win to his credit. His nephew Richard is also a jockey and had a winner at the Cheltenham festival in 2021 on Heaven Help Us. His grandfather, Gerry Townend, was also a notable amateur jockey. Condon retired in 2015 after a spinal injury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Buick</span> Norwegian-born flat jockey

William Buick is a Norwegian-British flat jockey. He shared the champion apprentice jockey title in 2008 with David Probert and won the Lester Award for Apprentice Jockey of the Year in 2007 and 2008. From 2010 to 2014 he was stable jockey to John Gosden. In 2015 he signed with Godolphin. Buick won his first Group1 race in Canada in 2010 and since then has won Group 1 races in England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. He has won four British Classic Races: the St Leger in 2010, 2011 and 2021 and the Derby in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Hanagan</span> English jockey (born 1980)

Paul Hanagan is a Classic-winning British flat racing jockey. Hanagan was twice been crowned champion jockey on the flat in Britain, riding 165 winners in 2011 to defend his title, having won his first title with 191 winners in 2010. Over a career spanning 25 years, he won a total of ten Group 1 races including the Epsom Oaks. From 1999 to 2022 he rode for the Malton-based trainer Richard Fahey, except for a four-and-a-half year break when he was retained by owner Sheikh Hamdan. He announced his retirement from race riding in August 2023.

Edward William George Hide was a British multiple classic winning jockey. He was, at his peak, the sixth most successful jockey in British racing history and remained the ninth most successful jockey over 30 years after his retirement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Kirby</span> British jockey

Adam Kirby is a Group 1-winning British jockey.

Dane O'Neill is an Irish jockey, who has won over 1,700 races in Great Britain over a 25-year career, including the 2015 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oisin Murphy</span> Irish horse racing jockey

Oisin Murphy is an Irish jockey based in the United Kingdom who competes in flat racing. He has won two British Classic and a number of Group 1 races. He was British Champion Jockey in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollie Doyle</span> British jockey

Hollie Doyle is a British jockey who competes in flat racing. She set a new record for winners ridden in a British season by a female jockey in 2019. She came third in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award 2020, and was also named The Sunday Times sportswoman of the year. In June 2022 she became the first female jockey to win a French Classic and the first female jockey to win a European Group 1 Classic when she rode Nashwa to victory in the Prix de Diane at Chantilly. In 2022, she came joint second in the Flat Jockeys' Championship, the highest result for a woman to date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cieren Fallon</span> British jockey

Cieren Richard Fallon is a British jockey who competes in flat racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Egan (jockey)</span> Irish jockey

David Egan is an Irish jockey who is based in Britain and competes in flat racing. He was British champion apprentice in 2017. From 2019 to 2022 he was retained by owner Prince Faisal, for whom he won the 2021 Saudi Cup on Mishriff. Since July 2022 he has ridden freelance, and achieved two Classic victories on the Roger Varian trained Eldar Eldarov.

Shane Crosse is an Irish jockey who competes in flat racing.

Saffron Rose "Saffie" Osborne is a Group race winning British jockey who competes in flat racing.

Jason Hart is a Group 1-winning jockey, whose biggest successes to date have come with the multiple Group race winning sprinter Highfield Princess. He was Champion Apprentice in 2013 and rode his first Royal Ascot winner in 2021.

Amy Ryan is a former flat racing jockey and current TV pundit, who was the 2012 British flat racing Champion Apprentice.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Clark, Graham (4 February 2021). "Flat racing's hottest young property Benoit de la Sayette reveals what motivates him and why he's honoured to be John Gosden's first apprentice jockey since 1992". Jockey Club . Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  2. ↑ Rennie, Matt (28 December 2020). "'Born to be a top jockey' - Benoit De La Sayette lands first career victory". Racing Post . Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Profile: Jockey: Benoit de la Sayette - Stats". Racing Post . Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  4. ↑ "Benoit de la Sayette: Teenage jockey banned after testing positive for cocaine". BBC Sport . 16 September 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  5. ↑ Milnes, David (14 October 2022). "Benoit de la Sayette hails 'fantastic support' after being crowned champion". Racing Post . Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  6. ↑ Scargill, Peter (7 May 2022). "Victoria Cup strike puts happy Benoit de la Sayette back in the spotlight". Racing Post . Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  7. ↑ Milnes, David (26 May 2023). "'I'm excited by the fresh challenge' - Benoit de la Sayette looking forward after riding out his claim". Racing Post . Retrieved 24 October 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.