Spencer flying towards another battle
Jamie Spencer will this season call on a private plane to help him in his bid to defend his champion jockey’s crown.
Spencer will fly to the majority of meetings in 2006 after buying himself a twin-engine six-seater Cessna in January.
The Irish rider feels it will boost his chances of landing a second jockeys’ title and extend the number of years he will be able to spend in the saddle.
“Pat Eddery always said to me that having an aeroplane prolonged his career. He didn’t get tired,” he explained.
“Last year, I was very fortunate as I flew quite a lot with Darryll Holland in his plane. He was very kind.
“I’ve got my own plane now and obviously that’s helpful. I bought it in January and had actually been looking for one since last September. It is second-hand, but it had never been on grass up to now, so it hasn’t had its bones rattled!
“There are so many positives to it. We went to Musselburgh last Sunday and it was just an hour and a half home. I used to train it from there and it would take four and a half hours.
“There’s so much traffic on the roads. You are spending three hours going to the race and three hours back, and that’s just going to courses that aren’t too far away.
“Now I can be riding in a race at five o’clock and I’m back home at five past six. So it takes a lot of the strain out. It’s going to be a big help.
“Most of the tracks have a strip five or 10 minutes away. It’s only the London ones that are a bit further.
“On the other side of things, when the first race is at 1.30pm, you don’t have to leave until 11.45. So you are able to have a rest if you’d ridden work earlier in the morning.”
Spencer, already out in front in the jockeys’ race, expects to clarify who he will be riding in the Guineas in the near future.
He said: “I’ve got a couple in the pipeline. I’ll know more in the next few days.”
But speaking at a press conference, where he was unveiled as the new face of Racing UK, for whom he succeeds Tony McCoy, Spencer admitted to being a big fan of Horatio Nelson.
He said: “You’d give your right arm to ride him in the Guineas. He looks special. He’s the horse that could be the three-year-old of the year.
“Horatio Nelson has everything. He has got the speed and his dam won the Oaks, so the stamina is there as well.
“He was unfortunate to get beaten in the Dewhurst. With a clear run he would have won by a couple of lengths, in my opinion.”
As part of the partnership with Racing UK, Spencer, 25, will carry the broadcaster’s branding on his silks and plane throughout the 2006 season and will feature in a national press advertising and direct marketing campaign.
He will also undertake a series of personal appearances including customer racing days and media events, as well as hosting a personal video diary and providing exclusive content for the Racing UK channel and website.
