Hawick jockey Jason Hart follows up hitting 100 wins for season with two more in his homeland
Hawick jockey Jason Hart followed up hitting a century of wins this flat-racing season last week by chalking up a couple more back in his homeland at Musselburgh on Saturday.
The 31-year-old’s 100th winner for this term was Battenburg Belle at 3-1 over almost six furlongs at North Yorkshire’s Catterick Racecourse last Tuesday for County Durham trainer Rebecca Menzies.
Disinclined to rest on his laurels after hitting treble figures for the fifth time in six seasons, the Borderer went on to claim win No 101 at Redcar, near Middlesbrough, the day after on 12-1 outsider Lady Hornblower, trained at Jedd O’Keeffe’s North Yorkshire yard.
Hart guided the three-year-old bay filly to victory by a length and a quarter from David Allan on 11-8 favourite Sweet Kiss, also trained in North Yorkshire, by Tim Easterby, to collect that one-mile-two-furlong race’s top prize of £3,664.
Back this side of the border three days later, he added another two wins to his tally in East Lothian.
The first was on SunriseontheBoyne for Ben Haslam’s North Yorkshire stables at 3-1 and its follow-up was on 5-6 favourite Boxing Great an hour later for Irish trainer Karl Thornton.
The former, a four-year-old bay gelding, was first past the post a head in front of Amie Waugh on Motawaared, trained by East Renfrewshire’s Jim Goldie, in the 5.50pm Jewson Edinburgh Selling Handicap over a mile and a furlong to earn a payout of £7,851.
The latter, a six-year-old chestnut gelding, finished the 6.50pm Scots Association Musselburgh Gold Cup Handicap almost five lengths ahead of Sam James on Fast Fred, trained in North Yorkshire by Phillip Makin, to win that two-mile-two-furlong race’s top prize of £10,308.
Hart was one of two Hawick riders among a field of seven for that race, the second-last of the day, the other being fourth-placed finisher Rowan Scott on Sax Appeal, trained by North Yorkshire’s Charlie Johnston.
His winning rides – helping take his total earnings for the season to £1,290,822 – were among six on the day at the seven-race meeting, the others being on Wrestling Revenue for Haslam, Black Storm for Selkirk’s Katie Scott, Star People for North Yorkshire’s John and Sean Quinn and Extragalactic for Suffolk’s William Haggas, respectively placing fifth of 11, fifth of ten and second of nine twice over.