The final round of the Go Racing in Yorkshire Future Stars Apprentice Race, supported by White Rose Saddlery, took place at Doncaster Racecourse on Saturday, the final day of the flat turf season. The ground was officially described as heavy and the distance was seven furlongs.
The race was restricted to jockeys who have not ridden more than 20 winners and nine runners went to post.
Zip, trained in Malton by Richard Fahey and ridden by Alec Voikhansky, who is based in Wiltshire with Richard Hannon gave a copy book pillar to post performance.
With an even break from the stalls, Zip was quickly into stride and settled to take the early lead. It Just Takes Time, partnered by Alex Fielding was keen in the early stages and the Owen Lewis ridden Alablaq was close up in third.
By the half way point, Zip had extended his lead with Broken Spear and Billy Loughnane making progress through the field to get within a length of the pair.
Pushed out with hands and heels, Alec and Zip were fending off the other runners from the front and in the final two furlongs as the race developed in earnest, the pair couldn’t be caught. Broken Spear made a good effort in second but simply couldn’t get on terms with the winner.
This was Alec’s first ride in the series and he rode an extremely well judged race to ensure the pair were always in the right place and in front at the line.
The overall series has been won by Ryan Sexton who amassed an amazing 75 points, winning four races and scoring points in two others. We look forward to following Ryan throughout next season and the return of the Go Racing In Yorkshire Future Stars Apprentice Series in 2023.
Thank you to White Rose Saddlery who continue to support this series and the young apprentices taking part.