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It’s unusual for the BBC to carry a positive story about racing, so fair dues to them:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/horse-racing/articles/cn4097xlzx4o
The trade paper doesn’t provide much more background, disappointingly:
Let’s hope that it’s the first of many winners for Aamilah.
Thanks for highlighting this Gladiateur. It is indeed refreshing to see a positive news story about racing, especially on the BBC. Wishing Aamilah further success.
I thought there was a bit of a missed photo opportunity yesterday as Kempton hosted a large group of black and Asian children at the course cheering on the horses from the stands.
Aamilah could have been shown as a real role model to what can be achieved. The photo probably would have made most of mainstream media who are never slow to have a dig at the sport and show the negative side.
Even yesterday there were 2 animal ‘rights’ activists at the gate with a megaphone shouting at racegoers as they arrived going on about paying to watch horses break their necks and mentioning Kalif Du Berlais a horse they’d probably never heard of before the 10 Jan.
She is leading the charge and very much wishing that she can build on thoses firsts as there is a lot riding on her (excuse the pun) to generate the appeal of racing within the younger black and other ethnic demographic.
Considering that young black kids are much more likely to be in an inner city environment rather than in the country where most of the racing stables are found, it is going to require her to probably become more high profile (Tiger Woods like) in order to garner the continued attention of the mainstream press/social media to reach those groups effectively.
Other sports are much more easily accesible to that demographic and require less equipment to start with and probably less hard graft and are also seen as less elitest sports, a preconceived notion which I think horse racing in general still suffers from being viewed as.
Wish her all the very best and hope that she is able to get attached to a stable(s) that can provide her with a steady supply of rides going forward so she can capitalise on this moment.
From Kim Bailey’s blog this morning…(worth reading to the end to see some of the names involved in The Ebony Horse Club)
“Plus 5 and raining when driving in.
We had to wait until late in the afternoon for our winner, but it was worth every second. Guchen, owned by the Friends of Ebony HorseClub, won his first race over hurdles at Kempton, brilliantly ridden by Aamilah Aswat.
It was Aamilah’s first ever winner on just her fourth ride. An extraordinary achievement and one we are immensely proud of. She’s been riding out here since she was about 14, full-time for the last four years, works incredibly hard, schools beautifully, and is always tidy and professional.
With the help of her riding coach, Will Kennedy, she has now achieved something truly special by becoming the first black girl to win a race over hurdles. A remarkable milestone. Many, many congratulations.
As we all know, so much in life is about being in the right place at the right time. And how hard is it to get going in this sport? How hard is it to get going as a jockey? Unless your father is a racehorse trainer, or your parents are wealthy owners with horses in training, opportunities are incredibly hard to come by.
That is why credit must go to Sir Frances Brooke, who put together this syndicate of very like-minded people to support the charity. I grabbed the opportunity by leasing Guchen to them, which in turn allowed Aamilah to have her chance in the saddle. She has repaid their patience in the very best way.
The Friends of Ebony Horse Club are Emma Banks, Gyles & Michele Brandreth, Guy & Lucy Davison, James & Astrid Findlay, Richard & Henrietta Pilkington, Stuart & Bianca Roden, Tim & Charlotte Syder, Caroline Tisdall, Arthur & Martha Vestey, William & Violet Vestey, Robert, Felicity, Sam & Annabel Waley-Cohen, George Waud, Charles & Anna Karin Yarborough, and Francis Brooke and Katharine Brooke.
Her Majesty The Queen, who is President of the Ebony Horse Club, kindly allowed the friends to Ebony Horse Club to run their horse in her colours.”At least the Post has given a bit more background to Aamilah’s story today:
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