Henry Brooke believes the David Power Jockeys’ Cup adds another spicy ingredient to a scintillating Scottish Cheltenham Trials weekend.
Musselburgh stages the pinnacle of their jumps season over both Saturday and Sunday with more than £400,000 on offer in prize money. With horses aiming to strengthen their credentials for March, riders are also battling for The David Power Jockeys’ Cup prizes.
Individuals are awarded points for finishing in the top four of races shown on ITV Racing between November 15 and April 4 with £500,000 going to the winner.Harry Skelton currently leads the way, but with prizes all the way down to £10,000 for 10th place, each placing is critical in East Lothian.
Brooke will be involved in Sunday’s action and, having been appointed to the Professional Jockeys Association Board two years ago, explained the importance to pilots across the UK.
He said: “First of all, I don’t think anybody’s trying any harder as such because they would be trying hard all the time.
“But finishing 10th is obviously £10,000, so it’s still a lot of money. To be battling for large sums of money, it’s really an incentive for everybody. £10,000 to me is a hell of a lot of money. I’ve got no chance of winning it now, which is a shame. But that’s the kind of thing, finish 10th, you’re getting £10,000, there’s stuff to fight for every single day.”
Although seen in some quarters as glamorous, it can be a tough existence for jockeys as they fight danger and injury every day through long-working hours and exhaustive travel. Brooke knows the threats. He was once in an induced coma after a fall and has broken his neck twice as well as other severe injuries.
The limelight placed onto jockeys with the David Power Cup is helping to offer an insight into the day-to-day lives and giving off reason for the importance of banking some cash.
Brooke said: “Being injured as a jockey is part of the way we do. Obviously, it’s one of the dangerous sports there is. One of the only sports where you’re getting chased around with an ambulance all the time. You’ve got to think of it like that.
“We’re finished as jump jockeys at 40. You’ve got a long time, 20-something years before you even can get your pension. You don’t get a long time at it, so you’ve got to do everything you can. Do the best job you can.
“Obviously, some days it all goes wrong. That’s when you need the loyal people behind you. If you’ve made a mistake, they’re happy to get over that.
“It’s hard work when you make a mistake. People can take you off the horses or whatever. That’s the hard bit. There’s an unseen side to it.
“We’re up every morning riding out at five, six o’clock. Then to go into the races, the amount of miles we drive before you get to the races, it’s hard.”
Brooke is excited to be involved in Sunday’s meeting and added: “I’ve got a good few bunch of rides up at Musselburgh which is always nice to get up there for that meeting because it’s a prolific meeting.
“They’re putting the money on and, when you put the money on, you get the horses. Which is what you need and you need the owners willing to send them up there again because obviously there’s more expense to get there as it’s further away for a lot of them southern trainers. So it’s nice to be able to go up there with a good bunch of rides to have on the day.”