Tuesday's Meetings Pontefract Flat 7 Races 2:02-5:12p.m. Navan Flat 7 Races 2:10-5:20p.m. Carlisle N/H 7 Races 2:20-6:10p.m. Southwell(E) A/W 7 Races 4:27-8:30p.m. Racecards At The Races Sporting Life Racing Post Good Luck
The 1830 at Southwell was won by Alondra, the 5/4 favourite trained by Charlie Hills and ridden by Jason Watson (yesterday he won on Hills' Carron at Wolverhampton: his only ride that day). Now I don't know if you have noticed this but this jockey seems lately to be very favoured by Hills. In fact he has some promising looking mounts for the same trainer on Friday and Saturday at Newbury, once a key hunting ground for him. Watson was the star apprentice of 2018, when in his first full season (his first season was 2017 when he rode about 3 winners) he rode more than a hundred winners, including a Group 1 in Italy for Luca Cumani. In those days he was apprenticed to Andrew Balding. At the end of 2018 Roger Charlton stepped in and signed him up as the retained stable jockey at Beckhampton. He was just 18. It couldn't have started worse for him as he fell in a race on the all-weather and was out of action for a few months. Come the turf season things soon went very positive for him and he was soon riding winners regularly for his retained stable. Notable early wins were on a 3yo Kingman colt called Headman. The horse that really made his name was the 2yo filly Quadrilateral. She won her maiden at Newbury with Watson presenting her in the last 50 yards to win narrowly without any fuss. She reappeared at the same course and he rode her quietly again at the start of this race but came away from her field in the final furlong to look a very smart filly. Charlton doesn't overtry his young horses so it was somewhat of a surprise to me (and I'm sure others) to see her upped in Class to take on a lot of experienced fillies in the Dewhurst. Well it was a bruising race for these fillies and Watson, riding Quadrilateral nearer the pace than usual, looked out of it a half furlong out when her jockey sent her right onto the rails and to get her head in front on the line. It was voted the best ride of the year at Newmarket. It may have been but it did no help to horse or jockey when it came to the future. When 2020 came round Charlton could not have said more than he was quoted as saying early in March 'No jockey is perfect but I could not be happier than I am with my stable jockey'. Then came Covid. Racing started at the beginning of June with the Guineas meeting. Quadrilateral looked to have strengthened over the Winter and started at a short price for the 1000G. Unlike her first two starts where she settled early she was lit up from the start. She ran well but had over ran the first 6 furlongs and had nothing for the finish. She was 3rd.You could feel the disappointment. A few weeks later, she reappeared in the Coronation Stakes at Ascot but again was disappointing and finished 3rd again. You could feel the confidence draining from Watson and by the end of the season he had lost the ride on Quadrilateral and wasn't even riding all the stable mounts. That continued in 2021 and midsummer the announcement was made that Charlton and Watson had parted company. It then became very tough for the jockey. He was supported by Mark O'Meara, who seemed to take him on as his second jockey. He also was given notable support by Balding ( unsurprising given he's one of the gentlemen of the turf) and also had a fruitful relationship with Darryl Holland. But it wasn't anything like 2018 or 2019 when he was much in demand. Often there were to be days without any mounts. It has continued like that but as I say there is suddenly a top stable ready to put him up regularly on horses with big chances and that's a significant change. Now I'm not saying he's a great jockey as I think he should definitely work on getting his horses more balanced, especially in a finish. But I do think horses run for him. I hope he's now able to stabilise his career, maybe with Hills perhaps with others. I don't blame Charlton particularly as I think there were a lot of factors, one being that he was very young. He probably went to a high profile job like Beckhampton a year or two too early. I do blame some of the owners there though. Good luck Jason.
