Irish amateur chasing British championship Steven Crawford is bidding to become the first non-British based rider to win the British Amateur Jumps Jockeys Championship and the Larne, Co Antrim based rider is currently tied in a share of the lead, with the season concluding on May 30. Crawford assists his brother Stuart Crawford in the family's training yard and while the pair have enjoyed great success in Scotland and the north of England in recent times, the jockey says “I finished third in the Championship last season but actually hadn't realised I was leading it for much of the season before Nick De Boinville ended up winning.” “If I don't win it this year, I've nobody to blame but myself because earlier in the season I missed riding a few of our winners in Britain. The ferry trip can be quite monotonous at times so I passed over riding a few of ours and got someone based over there to ride instead. “I've been told recently that nobody based outside of Britain has ever won the title and while it's not a massive big deal, I'll be going all out in the next fortnight. It would be nice to win as I'm never likely to win the Irish Amateur Jockeys Championship – that is out of anyone's reach as long as Patrick and Willie Mullins are around.” Crawford, who was Fegentri Champion in the 2012/13 season and was the regular rider for Prix De l'Arc winner Dylan Thomas in his time at Ballydoyle, adds “myself and Harry Bannister are each on nine winners and both Sam Waley-Cohen and Lucy Alexander's brother Kit Alexander have seven each. Realistically any of us can win it but normally between 12 and 15 or 16 is enough, so I'll need another few to win it.” “The meetings are getting scarce now and while I'd be hoping to pick up a few spare rides on the last day of the season at Stratford, we've one or two horses at home with chances which might run. Ground Invasion, which well won at Tipperary last Thursday, might appear again next weekend before possibly heading to the Sales.” “There'd be no fun in it if one of us was five or six winners clear and it's definitely helping to keep me focussed at a time of the season when not a lot else is happening.” Reflecting on the recently concluded jumps season, Crawford says “it was out best season both numerically and quality-wise. We won a Grade 2 bumper at Navan and while we had less horses for point-to-points, had more winners on the track. “We ended up having to pull stumps with Gilt Shadow towards the end of the season as he needs soft ground but he'll go chasing next season and jumps fences brilliantly. Carnduff and Twentytwo's Taken are two other nice horses for next season.” By Thomas Weekes
