Hitchcott is a jockey worth looking up to

Several questions arise from David Blunkett's recent claim that Britain is safeguarded by a record number of police officers.

Firstly, why does it often feel as if 135,000 of the 136,000 coppers employed to protect and serve spend most of their time making sure motorists don't overstep the mark?

And secondly, why is it that the baby-faced Sam Hitchcott has covered the best part of 150,000 miles in the last four years without ever being checked over as a potential joyrider?

At this point it should be made clear that Hitchcott has held a clean licence since passing his test aged 17 and considers himself "a very careful driver with a good eye for the rules of the road".

But the fact is that Hitchcott, 21, is tiny. So tiny that one regular who followed him into a racecourse car park recently felt certain that he had pulled up behind one of those remote-controlled cars currently appearing in the Hewlett Packard television advert.

"Just touching five feet" is the rather hesitant answer when one of the apprentice finds of this Flat season is asked for his exact height.

If that's the case then Frankie Dettori and Kieren Fallon both fall into the beanpole category, but Hitchcott has no need to gild the lily when it comes to his achievements in the saddle this year.

A switch from Mick Easterby's Yorkshire yard to Mick Channon's 180-horse base in Berkshire soon after Christmas has provided the regular source of rides which every young jockey needs to showcase his talents. And Hitchcott has seized his opportunity with relish.

A running total of 36 winners from 248 rides on the Flat this season has earned him almost £50,000 in prize money and riding fees and places him third in the apprentices' table with a month of the Turf season still to run.

The highpoints so far include a spectacular late charge aboard the Channon-trained Imperial Dancer to land a valuable handicap on the opening day of Glorious Goodwood.

Two trebles in the last five weeks have raised his profile considerably, and his rapport with the prolific winning stayer Misternando has provided one of the most notable success stories of the whole season.

Hitchcott said: "I rode my first ever treble at Ayr in September, but riding another on a Saturday meeting at Goodwood was a massive thrill and I couldn't be happier with the way things are going.

"It's great to get the ride on classy horses like Imperial Dancer, especially at the big meetings, but I have to say that Misternando is the one horse who has done most for me this season."

He certainly has. An unfortunate incident which saw Hitchcott unseated from one of the toughest handicappers in training at Yarmouth in July pales into insignificance when set against the eight wins rattled up by the Hernando colt this year.

"Misternando just bumped the rail and caught me unawares that day at Yarmouth, but I've ridden him to all his wins and no young jockey could ask for a better servant," he said.

"I've been told the modern day record for handicap wins in a season is 10. It would be great to see him equal that, and he's just the sort to run well in the Cesarewitch at Newmarket later this month."

Channon, who sets himself high standards and demands the same from his jockeys, feels Hitchcott is "improving all the time" and praises him for his determination to make the most of every opportunity which comes his way.

Hitchcott reciprocates by describing Channon as "hard but very fair" and, like so many of his weighing room colleagues, looks to champion jockey Fallon as a role model for his future progress.

"We all look up to Kieren because he paid his dues for years riding in the north before going on to show that he's the best there is in the south," he said. "He's been very good to me both in terms of help and advice and if there's one rider I try to model myself on then he's the one."

With that, Hitchcott heads off home to his base in West Ilsley, taking care to avoid the traffic jams and the police patrols on the M25.

"The moment I passed my test all my friends gave me stick and said that I'd be stopped and asked for my age every other day," he added.

"It's more of a problem when I go to a bar or a nightclub, but I keep my passport with me whenever we go for a night out and that seems to do the trick."

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