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[quote="rory" Had the pleasure of working with Tom for about half an hour at the Cheltenham Festival, and while he isn’t likely to prove that much better as a broadcaster that his dad, he is a genuinely nice guy with no shred of arrogance about him. He is also a much improved jockey in recent years and doesn’t deserve the brickbats he occasionally receives. He’s never going to be one of the greats, but he’s ultra reliable which counts for plenty.
There was nothing nice about his attitude when he beat Denman at Kempton….came across as little $hite….and Ruby agreed with that. I agree with the original poster….i find him a poor jockey…but he does damn well with a couple of the stable obv.
Sorry underscore,have to dissagree. It was a bit petulant the Denman thing and quite out of character for Tom. I am sure he regrets it and probably thought it was a bit of fun at the time. Mr Serious Ruby wouldn`t of course.
Tom is a fine judge of pace and overall a good jockey,definitely in the top tier ,but below Ruby, Richard ,AP, et al.He is a lovely guy and I`m speaking as one who saw his grandfather ride a Welsh Grand National winner
AP,
Wasn’t it Brennan who rode Osana in the Boylesports?
The return of Scudamore for the Champion Hurdle was, imo, close to being the difference to being second, as opposed to winning.
There was nothing nice about his attitude when he beat Denman at Kempton….came across as little $hite….and Ruby agreed with that.
Fine that’s one instance. Of those of us here who have played competitve sport is there anyone who can genuinely say they haven’t overdone the celebration occasionally?
Rob
Have to say his overall performance outside of the few high profile horses he rides is average at best. A good friend to the layer’s is Tom.
AP,
Wasn’t it Brennan who rode Osana in the Boylesports?
The return of Scudamore for the Champion Hurdle was, imo, close to being the difference to being second, as opposed to winning.
Correct, my error – mind you, given his finishing position in the Champion this year relative to those he ran against last year, it could be argued that he ran better for Scudamore than McNamara.
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Can’t have that AP; Osana simply pulled too hard in his first time blinkers this year, and I doubt any jockey could have done much about it.
Last year, it was noticeable that Tom Scudamore was looking around for the others at the top of the hill and, had he not waited for them to catch him up, may well have established a clear enough lead to win it. The horse obviously had fuel left in the tank to come back at Katchit, and I suspect a number of other jockeys woud have used it more judiciously.Nothing to do with his skills as a jockey, but I have to say that, when being interviewed Tom comes across as a great ambassador for the sport being pleasant, eloquent and enthusiastic.
Had the pleasure of working with Tom for about half an hour at the Cheltenham Festival, and while he isn’t likely to prove that much better as a broadcaster that his dad, he is a genuinely nice guy with no shred of arrogance about him. He is also a much improved jockey in recent years and doesn’t deserve the brickbats he occasionally receives. He’s never going to be one of the greats, but he’s ultra reliable which counts for plenty.
…And not just at the Festival, either, rory – he was absolute solid gold for us during the earlier Cheltenham meets, not least before and after Lough Derg’s grand display on New Year’s Day.
On interpersonal criteria alone, I’d have a dozen of him over one of certain other riders any day of the week.
gc
Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
IMO Scu jnr required a healthy dose of nepotism to get the Pipe job but has improved over the last couple of seasons.
Owner David Johnson has been badly hit by the credit crunch as his business is finance based.
He has cut his string from 80 to 50 and stopped buying new stock at the sales.
His company Commercial First have axed a sponsorship with Ascot.
His horses are primarily with Pipe , with a few casts offs with Montieth. He has 4 with Nicholls inc Chapoturgeon and Indian Blood . He has axed Henrietta Knight and Emma Lavelle from his trainers list.Didn’t David Johnson have Ferdy Murphy training for him at some point?
Think he still does have two
Poker De Sivola and Pre Token?"underscore":2gmmlu09 wrote:
There was nothing nice about his attitude when he beat Denman at Kempton….came across as little $hite….and Ruby agreed with that. I agree with the original poster….i find him a poor jockey…but he does damn well with a couple of the stable obv.
Can’t do anything else but agree with that mate, almost smug but surely common sense would tell him Denman was nowhere near 100% that day, as shown by his gallant 2nd in the Gold Cup.
perhaps he wasn’t just pointing out how far he had beat Denman by, but also a few other top class horses….did their jockeys take offence, and was Ruby annoyed at the insult to his horse or just annoyed that he hadn’t won [no, not in his nature…]
I am not really old enough to be able to say but I wondering – did Martin Pipe have the depth of opposition that David does now ? You have to look at Henderson, O’Neil, Nicholls, King, Johnson and Hobbs…all trainers with major backers who are being provided with a constant stream of firepower. I mean how much are Graham Wylie, Andy Stewart and Clive Smith spending to keep them at the top of the tree ? I don’t really think it’s fair to compare David and Martin when the landscape has changed to much in NH racing over the past 5-10 years.
Tom Scudamore is the main reason a dream came true for me last week – and here’s why:
Back in December at Ludlow, Tom rode Forfeiter for Christian in a 2 1/2 mile chase, run in very soft ground. Toms orders were to go out in front, let the horse bowl along as he jumps well, hopefully no-one will challenge him. Unfortunately, my instructions proved once again to be wrong as, 4 out, Forfeiter tired, made mistakes, and with Tom doing really well to stay on board, brought the horse home in 5th.
After the race, Tom looked at me and said ‘Too far on ground too soft’. He them commented ‘2 miles on good ground, and as long as it’s not stronger than a Listed race, you’ll have a winner’. What I liked about Tom was not just his honesty, but also the incredibly professional way he conducted himself – quite frankly, he was a delight to work with. We took the advice Tom gave us on board, and last week Forfeiter ran in a 2 mile chase at Mannheim on good ground, and he won as he liked, promptly coming home 12 lengths clear of the field. After the race, there was a trophy presentation, and thanks to a wonderful gesture by owner and trainer, the winners trophy now has pride of place in my living room!!
So, on a personal note, I’ve got a lot to thank Tom Scu for! A top jockey, a lovely guy, and also an excellent judge of a horse!
Darren – AngloGerman
________________________________________‘The Hungarian’s going hell for leather’ – Jim McGrath
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