JODY Townend is waiting on a very special delivery of six cases of champagne which she won at York last Saturday.

The three-time champion lady rider was paying her first visit to the track, having been booked two weeks earlier by trainer Adrian Keatley to partner Kihavah in the Queen Mother’s Cup.

Sent off the 11/4 favourite in a field of 15, the recent hurdle race winner proved to be very well handicapped on the flat and coasted home by three lengths, aided by a loose horse in the closing stages.

The Queen Mother’s Cup has a long history and we don’t think there have been many Irish winning riders. Nina Carberry and Katie Walsh rode in it numerous times but don’t appear on the roll of honour.

It’s customary that the winning rider receives their weight in champagne, and traditionally the lucky winner fills their breeches with lead before they are weighed, to ensure they get as many bottles of bubbly as possible.

The petite Jody would have been at a serious disadvantage at the scales but she told us the sponsors were generous. “The weigh-in is just a photo opportunity,” Jody confessed. “They were always going to give me the six cases. I couldn’t take them with me and, in fairness, they said they would deliver them to Ireland.”

Delighted to have been asked to go to York, Jody wouldn’t mind another spin in a lady riders’ race across the water if the opportunity arises. We note there’s a lady riders’ Derby at Epsom on Wednesday, July 5th. Will Willie Mullins send one over, knowing his jockey is more experienced than most?

And we wouldn’t be surprised if Jody got a call to ride at Carlisle on August 7th, when there’s an entire card restricted to female jockeys (professional and amateur).