Growing up in Merseyside, Jamie Neild was just like many young boys dreaming of playing football at Goodison Park. That was until he attended the British Racing School at 18.
Jamie was late to racing through his focus on football, but that has not stopped him from achieving success as an amateur jockey. Though he would not seriously consider racing until his latter teenage years, the sport has always been in his blood.
Father, John Neild, is a recognisable personality in the racing world having owned many celebrated horses, most notably Splash of Ginge; winning six races, three of which came at Cheltenham. So, when Jamie’s ambition of becoming a footballer did not come to fruition, there was only one route he was ever going to take.
Turning to Racing
Though Jamie’s main connection with racing is through his father, it was, in fact, jockey Sam Twiston-Davies that first planted the idea in his head. Neild Sr had horses trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies, father of Sam. It was when Jamie accompanied his dad to dinner with the Twiston-Davies’ that he was first set on his racing path.
“Football was the route I took and my only dream was to play football,” Jamie told Fen Regis Trophies. “Once reality hit around 17, I gave up and had a tough year coming to terms with it.
“I then turned my focus to racing and went to the British Racing School at 18.”
“My father had a horse with Nigel Twiston-Davies, after visiting the yard one week we went out for a meal with the Twiston-Davies family.
“Sammy pointed out that he thought I was the right size for it. I looked into it jokingly with nothing to lose and went from there.”
Since then, he hasn’t looked back and while he says he is entering the final few years of his racing career he still harbours the dream of riding a winner at Aintree.
“My life as a jockey is probably fading out slowly,” he said. “I have one good horse in Josh The Boss at the moment, who could be my last shot at big-time racing. He’s keeping the dream alive.
“I’ll chase that big Aintree winner until the day I quit!”
Jamie’s Proudest Achievements
For some, following in the footsteps of their father can be daunting with countless examples of sporting sons having tried, and failed, to step outside of the shadow of their parents. Jamie, however, has embraced what comes with racing under the Neild name, considering it a privilege to ride, and win trophies, in his father’s colours.
Jamie said: “Riding winners in my father’s colours are always a brilliant day, especially at big tracks like Ascot. It means the world to him and it’s a great feeling.
“Riding winners in America was probably the peak of my career, to have gone from never riding a horse to riding winners across the other side of the world, in the space of a couple of years, is just surreal and something I’m very proud of.”
Inspiration
As well as his father, Jamie also points to Irish National Hunt jockey Paul Carberry as someone he loved to watch, while he is also thankful for the hospitality of trainer Andrew Balding for welcoming a “mouthy scouser into their family”.
Jamie said: “I grew up watching horse racing. Obviously, being from Liverpool, we host the greatest horse race in the world so I was racing mad. My granddad had me placing lucky 15s at the tender age of seven!
“I used to love watching Paul Carberry because my dad and granddad loved him. Andrew Balding was also a big catalyst for me; he and his family welcomed a mouthy scouser into their family and guided me in the right direction.
“Without them, I never would have been able to get myself on the track, I owe a lot to them.”
Jamie is under no illusion that his connections in racing have helped him to secure opportunities, appreciating his good fortune to have received the support he has through his career.
“I’ve been very lucky with opportunities. I’ve worked for some top-class trainers and I’ve always had the support of my parents. I’ve been an amateur and under professional jockey ranks.
“Opportunities are probably the hardest things to come by. There will be plenty of jockeys out there, who have a lot more ability than me, but I’ve been very lucky to have been supported where I have to have been able to ride at multiple Cheltenham Festivals and Aintree, as well as having winners at Ascot and in America.”
Jamie learned his craft through the British Racing School, which has trained many jockeys but also trainers, stable staff, and racing secretaries. For more information on how to enrol on a course at the British Racing School, visit www.brs.org.uk.
