Hawick jockey Jason Hart targeting hat-trick after back-to-back Cock o’ the North title wins
Hawick jockey Jason Hart has been named as Cock o’ the North for the second year running – and yes, that is an accolade rather than an admonishment – and he’s now setting his sights on notching up a hat-trick of wins next year.
That award goes to the rider to amass the most first places in each flat-racing season at three Scottish tracks – Musselburgh, Hamilton and Ayr – and 13 in northern England, namely Chester, Beverley, Catterick, Doncaster, Haydock Park, Pontefract, Redcar, Ripon, Thirsk, Wetherby, York, Carlisle and Newcastle.
Hart, presented with a cap marking his victory at Doncaster Racecourse’s flat season finale meeting on Saturday, topped that leaderboard this time round with 89 wins at those 16 tracks and 127 all together from 943 rides, generating £1,566,558 in prize money.
Taking his running total for the last five years to 573 first places, accompanied by 584 seconds and 531 thirds, from 4,599 races, that’s up just short of a dozen on the 78 wins that earned the 32-year-old his first title last year and ten clear of runner-up Danny Tudhope.
“It’s good to win it for a second year,” he told our sister paper the Yorkshire Post.
“I have proved one year wasn’t a fluke and it is nice to do it again.
“It’s a thing that has been going on for a long time and some good jockeys have won it, so it is nice to have done it twice.”
Hart says he has long-standing agent Alan Harrison’s knack of booking promising rides to thank for his success, explaining: “I have been with my agent since the start and we have a good understanding.
“He knows I like to work hard and he is the same and does a tremendous job to keep everything smooth.
“There are times where I could ride three or four horses in a race and he does a good job of picking the right one for me whilst not upsetting the others I could ride for.
“There have been some good winners along the way, and as long as I am busy, I am happy.”
Looking ahead to next flat season starting in January and bidding for a third Cock o’ the North title on the bounce, he said: “It would be nice, wouldn’t it?
“Hopefully, we can find a couple of nice horses for next year and we can give it another crack.”
The Borderer wasn’t entirely cock-a-hoop about his latest title success, however, accusing Great British Racing of cocking up and displaying southern English bias by withdrawing support for the regional award, though they did put out a Facebook post congratulating him on his back-to-back wins.
“It is disappointing because of the fact that when it comes to Great British Racing, there is so much of a north-south divide,” he said.
“They never seem to give the north any attention whatsoever.
“There are a lot of good jockeys, a lot of good trainers and a lot of good owners in the north, and you can include Scotland in that as well.
“There are a lot of good people up here and I think Great British Racing have really let themselves down with the divide they have created.
“A few southern jockeys at the start of the year would be asking ‘who is going to be the Cock o’ the North this year?’
“It is a prestigious award that has gone on for years. Joe Fanning has won it plenty, and Paul Mulrennan and Danny Tudhope, but they have shown they only really cater for one side of the divide.
“I think a lot can be learned from the situation.
“Great British Racing are there to promote Great British racing, not just southern events.
“It is only a small thing but it shows what they are about.
“For them to pull out of it – well, I think they have really let themselves down.”