HARRY COBDEN admitted he was “astounded” when he discovered he could be half a million pounds richer by the end of the season.
It was announced on Friday that a new ‘jockeys’ league’, the David Power Jockeys’ Cup, would kick off at Cheltenham on Friday, running through until the Aintree meeting in April.
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Jockeys collect points by finishing in the first four in ITV-televised races, and the winning jockey gets a whopping £500,000, with more money on offer for anyone finishing in the top ten.
Unsurprisingly, the top four jockeys most likely to get their paws on the hefty loot – Nico de Boinville, Harry Skelton, Sean Bowen and Harry Cobden, admitted they were “hungrier than ever” for winners.
Speaking at a press conference before racing at Cheltenham, Cobden said: “It’s obviously unbelievable.
“When we got approached and told about the David Power Cup, we were astounded because we’ve never experienced anything like this before.
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“To have something like this offered to us is unbelievable. To have something like this offered to is insane.”
When the dairy farmer come jockey from Somerset was asked by ITV presenter Oli Bell whether he would be buying a new farm in the West Country, he replied he was trying to avoid thinking about it.
But everyone agreed that the sum was “life-changing” for a jump jockey.
A very competitive Sean Bowen, added: “I’d take the £500,000 over winning Champion Jockey any day so I’d give that a go. I’ll have a bit of that.”
Bowen was leading the jockey’s Championship last year when a horror fall left him on the sidelines for weeks, leaving the door open for Cobden to sneak up his inner.
Following his comment, there was some concern expressed that the new competition, funded by Flutter, the parent company to Paddy Power, might take some of the competition away from the Jockeys’ Championship.
But the idea was quickly put to rest by Bowen, who said: “This new competition only happens on weekends and most of us would be riding in the races anyway.
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“We are still competing day in day out to be Champion Jockey.”
The enormous prize-pot, which was designed to make the sport more accessible to viewers, has been rocket fuel for the jocks.
But Harry Skelton, the younger brother of trainer Dan Skelton and also his stable jockey, was not getting ahead of himself.
He said: “The difference with our sport is that Sean and Harry here get changed next to each other every day.
“They’re the big competition (for Champion Jockey), and they make me hungry. They make me want to ride winners and get up in the morning.”
“But what we want more than anything is for them to come back at the end of each race fit and good to ride the next one. That’s the reality of our game.”
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