No one has quite dominated the Racing League like Saffie Osborne. As the competition's leading rider, she’s set to return to Yarmouth on Thursday for the season’s opening night, with a familiar ally by her side.
After clinching the leading rider title with a stellar treble on the final night of the 2022 season, which helped her father Jamie Osborne’s team, Wales & The West, secure the Racing League trophy, she maintained her lead from the outset last year and successfully defended her title.
Her opening week performance was electrifying, as she notched another Thursday night treble, ultimately achieving a total of eight victories during the six-week series, culminating in a win aboard Valsad at Southwell.
While the overlap of the Racing League with prominent events like Goodwood and York’s summer festivals might pose challenges for her this year, the 22-year-old remains a key asset for the Wales & The Rest team and is eager to seize her chances.
On opening night, Osborne has four rides lined up, including the ever-reliable Stone Circle from trainer Michael Bell, whom she expertly guided to victory on last year's opening night at Yarmouth.
She commented: “It’s been great for me the Racing League and it's a great competition to be a part of. I’ve been fairly successful in it so far, so it would be great to have another good year. I’ll try to do all six (meetings), but with Goodwood next week, it’s hard to know where I will be until entries come out. It’s one of those competitions where you can’t go into it saying I’d love to be leading jockey again because it totally depends on what horses you get on and it’s a short window to try to win it, but if I can get on a few faster ones then I will give it a good go. I’ve got four rides (on opening night) and Stone Circle runs really well at Yarmouth, he has a really good record there. It's great to be a part of and seriously good prize money for six weeks for a grade of horse that wouldn’t normally be racing for this kind of money.”
A total of 84 out of a maximum of 98 runners have been declared for the opening night, with two races featuring a maximum field of 14.
The highlight of the evening will be the concluding 10-furlong handicap, boasting a prize fund of £75,000, where Sir Michael Stoute’s Believe In Stars and Harry Charlton’s Juddmonte-owned three-year-old Midair will compete for favouritism.