First success for Jessica Stokes Amateur jockey Jessica Stokes registered a fitting first racecourse winner today, landing Limerick’s John Thomas McNamara Series (Q.R.) Handicap Hurdle on her family’s own Fenway Park (25/1). Stokes, who rode a point-to-point winner last February, initially held up Fenway Park in mid-field, and having challenged from the third-last, led at the final-flight and scored readily by 10 lengths from Duce Bigalow (13/8f). Winning trainer, and father, Nicky Stokes led-up Fenway Park, who races in his wife Anna’s colours, with delighted jockey Stokes reporting “I’m at home working full-time and this win is great for dad too, as he puts in a lot of work. The days are long but this makes up for it. “We mainly have point-to-pointers and bought this horse from a claimer for me to ride. We put cheekpieces and a tongue-tie back on today, which worked. We knew he’d stay well, we went a good gallop and going down to the last he pricked his ears and stayed plugging away. “I thought coming over the last, that all I had to do was jump it and to get over the line in front was brilliant. Hopefully I’ll continue to have more fun doing this now.”
