HORSE RACING
Fortune ruffles feathers by calling new jockeys ‘plain average’
‘There’s a niche group at the top and the rest are plain average, ordinary,’ says former SA champion jockey Andrew Fortune
When it comes to being outspoken, UK politician Boris Johnson and former SA champion jockey Andrew Fortune are pretty much in the same boat.Johnson, the former foreign secretary, commented that Muslim women who wear face veils look like "letterboxes" and "bank robbers".Fortune, speaking to the Sporting Post, has ruffled a few feathers by stating that the new crop of jockeys in this country are "plain average"."There’s a niche group at the top and the rest are plain average, ordinary," he said.Fortune’s wife, Ashley, has made a successful start to her training career and the former champion feels a lot of hard work can be undone by a jockey not having the necessary skills."Why would you take an owner’s hard-earned cash for months and work your butt off to get a horse fit and then engage a jockey who is probably going to mess it all up in 60 seconds?"Fortune did single out two jockeys, Richard Fourie and reigning champion Lyle Hewitson, as not falling into the "plain average" category...
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