Warwickshire-based James King has sewn up the national men’s championship for a second successive season.
King, 26, rode a treble at Trecoed on Saturday and yesterday followed up with a single victory at Bratton Down to take his season’s score to a personal high of 61 winners, ten clear of seven-time champion Will Biddick. The 2021/22 season ends on Saturday in North Devon at Umberleigh where King’s name is inked in on six horses.
He said: “It has been an unbelievable week [ten winners] and an amazing season. A month ago it was nip and tuck with Will, but I thought I had a very good chance because the horses I ride would go right to the end of the season.”
Much of King’s recent success has come on horses trained by Luke Price, who has won the Tattersalls Leading Owner Championship – nearest pursuer John Chatfeild-Roberts does not have any horses entered at Saturday’s finale. Price added another to his score as an owner, reaching 16 for the season, when Villanesque ridden by King won at Trecoed.
South Wales trainer Luke Price and James King have made a formidable combination in recent weeks **photo Carl Evans
King said: “Luke’s statistics and his win-ratio are remarkable. It’s great to be part of a successful team. Until last season I didn’t have a big yard to ride for, but then I became involved with Fran and Charlie Poste and Luke. One yard tends to run their horses early in the season, and the other targets the latter part, so it works well.”
King’s tally is the second-highest recorded by a British point-to-point rider in a single season, with Biddick’s 68 wins in 2014/15 remaining safe for at least another year in pole position. “I’ve run out of time to catch Will’s total,” said King, “but my score is easily my personal best. I’ll enjoy this while it lasts.”