THERE has been no shortage of debate on the merit of female jockeys compared to their male counterparts, and this has been brought into focus by the introduction of a universal claim for female riders in France, seeing Hayley Turner, and more recently Bryony Frost, relocate there for better opportunities.

The achievements of Frost, Turner, Rachael Blackmore, Hollie Doyle, and others in the past decade have shown that gender is no barrier to success in Ireland and the UK in a sport where all senior riders compete on equal terms.

There remains, however, a deeply held belief among many punters that, while women are more than a match for men when it comes to judgment and finesse in the saddle, that they tend to lack crucial strength in a finish, although that strength is rarely measured or even defined adequately.

One attempt to measure a jockey’s strength involved pitting Hollie Doyle against Arsenal and England footballer Leah Williamson a few years ago where the diminutive Doyle proved a match for Williamson in a series of challenges.

That experiment hasn’t been extrapolated, but showed Doyle was supremely fit, while jockeys who look weak in a finish aren’t those who are smaller in stature but those who struggle through a lack of fitness and are therefore unable to maintain rhythm and balance in a finish as a result. It is certainly not a matter of underlying physique, and that outdated bias is surely on the way out. I talk about punters’ belief rather than that of owners and trainers, not because there is no bias remaining among the other group, but that punters’ biases are there to be manipulated for those looking for value.

Delighted

I wrote a piece here around seven weeks ago nominating two riders to follow, both of whom are women, and I’m delighted to note that anyone following them since that article have been well rewarded.

Saffie Osborne has ridden 22 winners from 107 rides since the start of the turf season in late March, while Jo Mason has notched up 17 winners from just 85 rides in that period.

Punters having a tenner on all their mounts at Betfair SP would be a smidgin over £2,000 ahead to a £10 stake in that time period.

Along with Hollie Doyle, they are in the top 10 riders in the UK based on both winners ridden and profit generated on bets since the beginning of the flat season at Doncaster.

You’d imagine that the value in backing Doyle might have dried up given how well she is established, but she has also been very profitable to follow in the same period, with tenner backers at Betfair SP ahead to the tune of £885.80.

Josephine Gordon is another woman to have ridden 100 winners in a season, and while she is not as fashionable as she was a few years ago, is another who has paid to follow this term, as has Hayley Turner, now in her 24th season, proving that longevity is not all-male territory.

IT’S hard to remember a year when the pecking order for the Derby was less clear after the major trials had been run.

It used to be said that the best trial for the Derby was the 2000 Guineas, but if that’s the case this year, it will need a Lazarus-like recovery from City Of Troy, who is the only runner from Newmarket who even holds a Derby entry.

Hidden Law won’t be at Epsom for the most tragic of reasons having been a most impressive winner of the Chester Vase, and while the Economics produced a sparkling performance for one so inexperienced in the Dante, connections are all but certain the big colt won’t handle Epsom, which leaves his participation in considerable doubt (he’s already been taken out of the race but could be supplemented).

Out of favour

Arabian Crown won the Sandown Classic Trial, which did produce three consecutive Derby winners from 1979-1981, but has been largely out of favour since and that won’t change this year with yesterday’s news that Arabian Crown has suffered a setback.

The Ballysax Stakes and Derrinstown Derby Trial at Leopardstown tend to be excellent guides, but with 50/1 chance Dallas Star beating a pair in the Ballysax who could only take minor honours in the Lingfield trial, and Los Angeles looking more of a stayer in the latter event, the picture isn’t getting much clearer, a situation not helped by Ancient Wisdom’s defeat at York behind Economics.

As it stands, City Of Troy is as low as 2/1 favourite for the June 1st contest, with Los Angeles and Ambiente Friendly each at around 6/1.

Ambiente Friendly has to be considered after beating Ballysax placed pair Illinois and The Euphrates at Lingfield and it would certainly be well received if James Fanshawe and Bill Gredley were to team up to win at Epsom.

The Gredley family horses are increasingly named in homage to that popular pair Environment Friend and User Friendly, the former a flop in the Derby when giving Fanshawe his only runner to date in the classic, but a winner of the Dante and the Eclipse either side of that effort, and names like User Amistoso, Usuario Amigo, Ambiente Amigo and Environment Amigo – all currently in training for the Gredleys – pay tribute to those glory days in the 1990s when Group 1s came like buses.

Fanshawe was a relative youngster when training Environment Friend and must have imagined that he would have plenty more chances to have a runner again in the Derby, but amazingly, Ambiente Friendly is set to be the first since those heady days when Fanshawe was training Champion Hurdlers as well as top-class flat racers (he was assistant to Sir Michael Stoute in the Kribensis days as well as training Royal Gait in his first season with a licence).

The 6/1 about Ambiente Friendly looks fair when comparing achievements this season, and while he’s not a formal selection for me, I will cheer him to the rafters on the day.