Tom Bellamy has been in the headlines this week after a race at Huntingdon was declared void, but there is far more to talk about following a career-best season that brought his first Cheltenham Festival winner. The jockey opened up on the abuse riders receive online, his mum’s viral TV moment and the weighing-room greats he most admires, as well as building his perfect horse from the ones he has ridden.
GG: Is there a criticism of jockeys online that immediately tells you that person knows nothing about racing or race riding?
Tom Bellamy: I’m not one to get too flustered over it, but I know people who do. I’ve seen lads in the weighing room searching their own names to see what was said. I just block people who send direct messages.
I replied to one guy the other day who asked why I didn’t kick on with a horse. Because he hadn’t wished for my family to die or cancer on me, I explained why I did what I did, and we actually had a conversation.
I’m open to criticism, but death threats and wishing things on you, those people are just scum of the earth. They probably only had £2.50 on!
“I acted all serious, saying, ‘What have you done?’ I thought she was going to start crying!”
GG: Have you forgiven your mum yet for her viral interview after White Noise’s Cheltenham Festival victory?
Bellamy: I was in the next race, so I was rushing to get changed. Jonjo O’Neill Jr. came up to me and said, ‘Have you seen this?’ It said Jockey’s mum roasts him live on TV. We watched it and burst out laughing. Carried on with the day and by the time I got back off my next horse, my phone had gone absolutely mental.
I went down to the owner and trainers’ bar where she was having a celebratory drink and acted all serious, saying, ‘What have you done?’ I thought she was going to start crying, so I stopped straight away. The week after was highly interesting. There were some interesting offers! She enjoyed the fame more than I did.
GG: Name one jockey, past or present, who you’d love to sit down and ask for some pointers.
Bellamy: When I was 16, I rode a horse AP McCoy had ridden before. I asked him about it in the weighing room, and he sat down and talked me through it. I was in awe; he took time out of his day for me.
I also love seeing Ruby Walsh on TV. His knowledge is exceptional. He’ll come up with things that have never crossed my mind before. It’s not good when he assassinates you, but I’m open to it because he knows what he’s on about, and you probably deserved it. He watches it live and goes straight into instant analysis.
“My pet hate is leaving races out there that I should have won.”
GG: After a career-high 67 winners last season, and a first Cheltenham Festival winner, how high do you now set your aims for the season ahead, or further beyond?
Bellamy: From a personal perspective, it was massive because it’s my personal best, but there are plenty of other jockeys who have ridden a lot more. I’ve broken my own record, but I haven’t broken any other records. The more winners you ride and the more trainers you ride for, the better it is and the more your name’s out there.
If you set targets and numbers, I’ve already missed 10 weeks, so I could be sitting here thinking I’m not going to get there. I just try to do the best I can every day and keep the people I ride for happy.
My pet hate is leaving races out there that I should have won. That drives me mad more than anything. If nothing went wrong and the horse just didn’t win, I can accept that. If I did something to make the horse lose, that would bug me.
GG: Build your perfect horse out of horses you’ve ridden by naming one for each of these attributes: speed, stamina, jumping, determination.
Bellamy:
- Speed: The Kemble Brewery. He’s very fast, doesn’t mean he’s the best horse, but he’s got speed up the gallop.
- Stamina: Bristol De Mai. I never rode him in a race, but I used to ride him out at home. He was a slogger. When the ground was soft, he would just keep going at the same speed whether it was three miles or ten miles.
- Determination: Sceau Royal. Daryl Jacob rode him, but I rode him a few times at home. He’d kill you in the box and try to bite you when you put his saddle on. He was evil really, but he’d die for you on the track.
- Jumping: Ziga Boy. He was my first big winner in the Great Yorkshire Chase. He was an absolute joy; you could shut your eyes and let him do the job.
Tom Bellamy spoke to GG courtesy of BOYLE Sports, who offer the latest horse racing odds.
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