From racing obscurity to a novice riders’ championship and now a first win under Rules sums up a memorable 12 months for Callum Pritchard.
Of this time last year he says: “I’d had four [point-to-point] rides and didn’t know a soul in the sport, certainly no point-to-point trainers and I couldn’t buy a ride to save my life.”
What a difference a year makes. In the spring of 2022, while working in hunt service in the Northern Area, Pritchard decided to try point-to-pointing on a horse owned by his girlfriend, Hannah Jones. With enthusiasm for the sport fuelled by that experience and a couple of places, he opted to find a job in racing, and since Hannah’s brother Ben was among the team of jockeys working for Philip Hobbs and Johnson White in Somerset he applied for a position and moved south.
In November last year, returning to his Carmarthenshire roots, he picked up a point-to-point ride at Ffos Las on Quarenta, trained by Ben’s wife Laura, and over the next few months gradually made liaisons and gained rides at West Country meetings. A late flurry of winners saw him end the season with nine victories and both hands on the Highflyer Bloodstock Novice Men’s Championship.
Callum Pritchard (far side) in action at Upcott Cross last season
His next ambition was to gain a winner under Rules, and in the past week that goal was achieved when he won on the Hobbs and Johnson-trained Dan’s Chosen at Ludlow. He says: “It was a special moment. I couldn’t believe it. The horse had been on the go all through the summer and there were a couple of other fancied runners, so I was no more than hopeful, but he won.
“I’d been told five days before that I would be riding him, but if the ground had been any softer he would not have run. It was a monkey off my back to get off the mark and hopefully to make a good impression.”
That was not the only memorable moment Pritchard enjoyed last week, for on Tuesday at Exeter he donned the famous colours of J P McManus in an amateur jockeys’ hurdle race, albeit he was unplaced on Sassified for his bosses, and then on Friday he gained his first spin at Cheltenham. Riding the Ryan Potter-trained 66/1 shot Light Flicker in a 19-runner amateurs’ handicap chase he finished fifth, beaten just over five lengths by the Jack Andrews-ridden winner Mole Court.
The race was laced with the cream of amateur riders, including Jack and Gina Andrews and James King, who have all been senior British champions, and top Irish stars Derek O’Connor, Barry O’Neill and Rob James. Pritchard says: “It was unbelievable – I had to pinch myself. You could get carried away just being down at the start in among riders of that quality, but you have to remain switched on and believe in your own ability.
“At one point Derek O’Connor was on my inner and I was trying to make sure I didn’t p**s him off.”
At the age of 22 Pritchard has made giant strides, but not unnaturally he is keen to make the most of opportunities and hopes to become a conditional jockey in time. However, he intends riding for at least one more season in point-to-points and could kick off with three rides at the opening meeting at Dunsmore in Devon.