What an awful tragedy, I just feel so sorry for the friends and families of those victims. It makes me profoundly sad each time I remember this.
She was also great in the film Hobson’s Choice which had some great British actors from the post war period - John Mills, Charles Laughton, Brenda de Banzie, Richard Wattis etc
Apprentice jockey Tommie Jakes has died at the age of 19. He was found at his family home near Newmarket in the early hours of Thursday. The 5lb claimer rode at Nottingham on Wednesday when he partnered the Ismail Mohammed-trained Guarantee to finish seventh of nine runners in a juvenile maiden over a mile. In a statement, Suffolk Police said : “Police were called by the ambulance service at 5.45am this morning to reports of the sudden death of a man in Freckenham. The death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will now be prepared for the coroner.” Jakes rode 59 winners from 519 rides in a career which spanned only three years. Latterly he had been apprenticed to George Boughey, for whom he partnered his last winner, Fouroneohfever, at Catterick on October 18. Jose Santos, assistant to Mohammed, said: “We're really shocked. It’s hard to believe. I feel completely empty as he rode out for us twice a week and always seemed happy and positive. He never showed any signs of having any kind of problems. I know he didn’t smoke, I know he didn’t do drugs or drink, and for everyone in the yard it's a massive shock.” He added: “We were making plans and after he rode that horse for us at Nottingham yesterday I asked him to send a voice note to the owner and he said he would. He said he'd see me tomorrow and that was it. It was the last I spoke to him. I still don’t believe it. I just don’t get it. Tommie Jakes rides his first winner on Suzi's Connoisseur at Lingfield in March 2023 Tommie Jakes rides his first winner on Suzi's Connoisseur at Lingfield in March 2023 (Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)) "We have a good team of two-year-olds and he loved our horse Lord Britain. He'd said we could turn the horse out over the winter at his home, where his family had land. He was coming to the yard twice a week and I treated him like my son.” Alice Haynes also had Jakes as an apprentice. She said: “It’s very sad. He had one of his first jobs in racing with us. He was keen and very enthusiastic and rode well. He rode me my first winner at Newmarket. It’s really shocking news. "He was apprenticed to us for a while before he moved on to George Boughey. He was a likeable lad who came from a lovely family and no-one had a bad word to say about him." Jakes was first apprenticed to Jane Chapple-Hyam and rode his first winner on the yard's Suzi’s Connoisseur at Lingfield in March 2023. Chapple-Hyam said: “It’s very sad news and all our thoughts are with his family.” Scottish-based trainer Linda Perratt gave Jakes more rides than anybody in his career – 169 – and 17 winners. She said: "It's dreadful news. I'm really upset and my thoughts are with Tommie's family. He rode lots of winners for us. His mum said I was like his second mother when he used to come and stay with us. We started using him and he rode most of them on the all-weather for us through the winter. "We watched him on the telly riding yesterday and he even messaged my head girl last night. There are no words." This year Jakes had also ridden out for Brian Meehan at Manton and had three winners from 17 rides for the trainer this season. A joint-statement from the Injured Jockeys Fund and Professional Jockeys Association read: "It is with deep sadness that we report the death of licensed apprentice jockey Tommie Jakes, 19, who tragically died at home this morning near Newmarket. "Tommie was a much-loved son and brother, and a popular member of George Boughey's racing team. His parents Jeremy and Tonie ask that their privacy is respected at this terrible time." BHA acting chief executive Brant Dunshea said: “We are devastated to hear the news about Tommie. He was a talented young rider with the world at his feet, and had earned great praise from trainers for his horsemanship and attitude in just the last few months. “His family and friends, colleagues at the George Boughey yard and everyone who worked with him in Newmarket will be grieving today, and all of us in the racing community will share that pain. “The sport’s support services and the BHA will provide care and support to those close to Tommie, and welcome and encourage calls from anyone affected by this. There will be marks of respect at Chelmsford and Southwell this evening and at racecourses tomorrow.”
