Alice Plunkett

Last updated

Alice Plunkett (also known by her married name, Alice Fox-Pitt) is a former eventer and National Hunt jockey and current presenter on ITV Racing in the UK.

Contents

She is the only female to have ridden at both Badminton Horse Trials and over the Grand National course at Aintree. [1]

Riding career

Plunkett started riding at hunts, which led to riding in point to points. That, in turn, led to her riding in the 1993 Fox Hunters' Chase at Aintree, one of the two main hunter chase races in the calendar. She was aged only 19 and it was only her fifth ride on a racecourse. She rode a horse called Bold King's Hussar, bred by her grandfather and finished fourteenth. [1] She went on to ride winners on the flat, over hurdles and fences. [2]

In her eventing career she rode at Badminton Horse Trials and also represented Great Britain at the European Three Day Event Championships under 21. [2]

She gave up competitive riding in 2000, [1] but has since ridden in charity races at the Cheltenham Festival. [3]

Broadcasting career

Plunkett was on the main Channel 4 Racing team from 2001 to 2016 and then with ITV when they took over racing coverage in 2017. In recent years she had been one of the lead presenters for National Hunt Racing coverage.

She has also been the Radio 5 Live equestrian correspondent and has hosted equestrian events for Eurosport, Sky Sports and Horse and Country. She has also presented two series of equestrian interest show Horse Tails on Animal Planet. [2]

Personal life

She is married to eventer William Fox-Pitt. They have four children. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jockey</span> Someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing

A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual who rode horses in racing. They must be light, typically around a weight of 100–120 lb., and physically fit. They are typically self-employed, and are paid a small fee from the horse trainer and a percentage of the horse's winnings. The job has a very high risk of debilitating or life-threatening injuries.

National Hunt racing is a form of horse racing particular to France, Great Britain and Ireland, that requires horses to jump fences and ditches. In the UK it is divided into two major distinct branches, hurdling and steeplechase, as well as flat races called "bumpers". Hurdling involved the horses jumping over obstacles called hurdles, whereas in a steeplechase the horses jump over a variety of obstacles that can include plain fences, water jump or an open ditch. In the UK, the biggest National Hunt events of the year are generally considered to be the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Fox-Pitt</span> British equestrian

William Speed Lane Fox-Pitt is an English equestrian who competes in eventing. His career highlights include winning three Olympic medals in the team event, with silver in 2004 and 2012, and bronze in 2008. At the World Equestrian Games, he won team gold and individual silver in 2010, and team silver and individual bronze in 2014. He also won World team medals in 2002 and 2006. At the European Championships, he has won six team gold medals, as well as Individual silver in 1997 and 2005, and Individual bronze in 2013. He is the recordman CCI*****'s winner with 14 grand slam titles. In 2011, he became the first rider to win five different five-star events, having won the Burghley Horse Trials a record six times, Rolex Kentucky three times, Stars of Pau twice, the Badminton Horse Trials twice, and the Luhmühlen Horse Trials once (2008). A serious fall in 2015 left him in a coma for two weeks, but he came back to make the British eventing team and attend the 2016 Summer Olympics. He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2018 Birthday Honours.

Channel 4 Racing is the name given to the horse racing coverage on the British television stations Channel 4 and More4.

Henrietta Catherine Knight is an English Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Knight is best known as a trainer of National Hunt racehorses.

John Geoffrey Tristram Lawrence, 4th Baron Trevethin and 2nd Baron Oaksey was a British aristocrat, horse racing journalist, television commentator and former amateur jockey. He was twice British Champion Amateur Jump Jockey, before becoming a celebrated journalist and recognisable racing personality both on television and through his charitable work for the Injured Jockeys Fund, which he helped establish. He has been described as "quite possibly the outstanding racing figure of modern times, touching so many via his compelling writing, broadcasting, race-riding and tireless fund-raising".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plumpton Racecourse</span>

Plumpton Racecourse is a National Hunt racecourse in the village of Plumpton, East Sussex near Lewes and Brighton. Racing first took place at Plumpton in 1884.

Anthony Bingham Mildmay, 2nd Baron Mildmay of Flete was an English amateur steeplechaser, who raced in the Grand National. He also inspired the Queen Mother's interest in National Hunt racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timmy Murphy</span> Irish jockey

Timothy James Murphy, known as Timmy Murphy, is a retired Irish jockey who competed mostly in National Hunt racing. A multiple Grade 1-winning rider, he is best known for his victory on Comply or Die in the 2008 Grand National. He overcame problems with alcohol, which had led to a prison sentence after a drunken incident on a plane in 2002, to resume a successful career and win the 2005 jump jockey of the year Lester Award. He won the Irish Grand National on Davids Lad in 2001, and the Scottish Grand National on Merigo in 2010 and 2012. He had eight winners at the Cheltenham Festival, the first in 1997 and the last in 2009. He recorded his 1000th win in Britain in 2010. Following an injury in a fall in 2010 he was unable to regain his licence to ride over jumps and switched codes, riding on the flat from 2015 until 2018, when he retired from race riding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davy Russell</span> Irish National Hunt jockey

Davy Russell is an Irish retired National Hunt jockey. He was Irish jump racing Champion Jockey three times, and won the Grand National (twice), the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris.

Paddy Brennan is a retired Irish jump jockey. He was champion conditional jockey in the 2004/05 season and won the 2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup on Imperial Commander. He was based in Gloucestershire as stable jockey at Fergal O'Brien's yard for several years before his retirement in April 2024.

Katie Walsh is a retired Irish jockey who, in 2012, came third in that year's Grand National on Seabass, giving her the highest finish to that date for a female competitor. Walsh is the daughter of amateur jump jockey, trainer and television pundit, Ted Walsh and the sister of top class jump jockey, Ruby Walsh. She rode three winners at the Cheltenham Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicola Wilson</span> British equestrian

Nicola Wilson is a British equestrian rider specialising in three-day eventing. Riding Opposition Buzz, she won a team gold at the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games and team silver at the 2012 Olympic Games. She is also a seven-time medallist at the European Championships, including team golds in 2009, 2017 and 2021 and individual gold and bronze in 2021 and 2017, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Grand National</span>

The 2017 Grand National was the 170th official running of the Grand National horse race at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. The showpiece steeplechase over a distance of 4 miles 514 yards (6.907 km) took place on 8 April 2017, the final day of a three-day meeting. A maximum field of 40 runners competed for a share of a prize fund of £1 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Grand National</span>

The 2018 Grand National was the 171st annual running of the Grand National horse race at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. The showpiece steeplechase was the pinnacle of a three-day festival which commenced on 12 April 2018. The event was sponsored by Randox Health for the second time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiger Roll</span> Thoroughbred racehorse

Tiger Roll is a retired Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt racing and won the Grand National in 2018 and 2019. He has also won five times at the Cheltenham Festival: the Triumph Hurdle in 2014, the National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup in 2017 and the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase in 2018, 2019 and 2021.

Bryony Frost is an English National Hunt jockey from Buckfastleigh, Devon. In 2019 she became the first female jockey to win a Grade 1 race at the Cheltenham Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Grand National</span> 173rd Grand National horse race

The 2021 Grand National was the 173rd annual running of the Grand National horse race, held at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England, on 10 April 2021. The event was once again sponsored by Randox Health, although the name on the race from this year onwards was shortened to simply "Randox". The total prize fund for the race was £750,000, down by £250,000 from the last meeting in 2019.

Caroline Robinson, better known under her maiden name, Caroline Beasley, is an Irish jockey. She was the first woman to ride a winner at the Cheltenham Festival in Christie's Foxhunter Chase, as well as Aintree's Fox Hunters race.

Bridget Andrews is an English National Hunt jockey. In 2018 she became the second professional female jockey to ride a winner at the Cheltenham Festival when she rode Mohaayed to victory in the County Handicap Hurdle. In 2023 she achieved her second festival win in the same race.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "I Love My Hunting: Alice Fox-Pitt". The Master's Voice (26). March 2011. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "Alice Plunkett - Presenter". Johnno Spence Consulting. Archived from the original on 17 April 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  3. "Cheltenham Festival 2011 Diary: Henry Cecil hopes to land his first Derby at Cheltenham".