AS presents go, Julie Burke is absolutely delighted with the gift under her Christmas tree this year.
The 21-year-old apprentice rider, who has taken the northern scene by storm since moving over from Ireland in the summer, has been awarded the prestigious Kyne Wilson Scholarship for 2011.
The prize, given by Beverley Racecourse in memory of jockeys Jamie Kyne and Jan Wilson, who tragically died in the flat fire in Norton in September 2009, supports a Yorkshire-based apprentice each year and is a package worth around £4,000.
Paul Pickard was the first recipient and no one who has seen Burke on the track over the past couple of months could argue she isn’t fully deserving of the gong.
Since joining Hambleton trainer Kevin Ryan in July, the pint-sized rider has become racing’s latest phenomenon. She has ridden 14 winners, from more than 80 rides, and has been put up by 23 different trainers.
It was a big step swapping County Kildare for North Yorkshire, and Burke can’t believe how well things have gone.
“I have just been getting winner after winner,” she said. “It’s been great. I thought if I could get a few winners and get my name about I would get to know the chaps.
“That was my aim. I never thought I would be riding 14 winners and for Mick Channon and for so many good trainers. I really can’t believe how well it’s gone.
“It hasn’t really sunk in because it has happened all so quickly. Kevin Ryan has been absolutely brilliant and has given me a great chance. I have been riding work with Amy (Ryan, Kevin’s daughter and apprentice rider) and Phil Makin and they have been great as well.”
Burke moved in search of opportunity.
“It’s too hard in Ireland for a female rider and it’s getting harder for everyone with the economy as it is,” she added. “I decided to make the move to England – they seem to give female riders a bit more of a chance over here.”
Now Beverley have given her an even better chance.
Burke is no stranger to the saddle. Her father, Paddy, and her brother, John, train jumpers and another brother, Martin, is a conditional jockey. Her sister, Elaine, works at Horse Racing Ireland.
Dyed in the wool National Hunt people – or, at least, they were.
“I had it in my head that I didn’t like the Flat,” says Burke, who was a star student at the Racing Academy and Centre of Education – Ireland’s equivalent of the Northern Racing College. “I thought I would have more chance on the Jumps, but even my brothers have started to like the Flat now I’m here.
“I want to keep improving and next summer will be the most important time for me.”
If there was a turning point for Burke, the moment she realised she had the skills to succeed, it was winning on Daas Rite at Kempton for Ryan at the end of September.
She explained: “I got up in a close finish to beat Tom Queally, who was riding the favourite. He’s probably one of the strongest jockeys in a finish and that started to get me rides and gave me confidence.
“It is great to win the award. It is a real honour to be riding in memory of Jan and Jamie next season and I will do my very best to do them proud. I am pleased to be associated with Beverley Racecourse and just hope I can notch up a few winners there. The scholarship is a fantastic idea and it is going to be a really big help.”
Sally Iggulden, chief executive of the Beverley Race Company, said: “The Kyne Wilson Scholarship presents a unique and exciting opportunity for young people to get on and better themselves in the tough world of horseracing.
“Jan and Jamie will never be forgotten in the industry, and supporting apprentice jockeys seems an appropriate legacy. We had been watching apprentice races throughout the season, and I had mentioned the scholarship to several trainers and racing aficionados and one name kept popping up. “We approached Julie who was delighted to take on the scholarship and I am very much looking forward to working with her in 2011.”
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