{"id":15345,"date":"2019-03-13T13:32:58","date_gmt":"2019-03-13T13:32:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/?p=15345"},"modified":"2019-03-13T14:55:36","modified_gmt":"2019-03-13T14:55:36","slug":"leading-amateur-jump-jockey-zac-baker-on-life-in-the-saddle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/leading-amateur-jump-jockey-zac-baker-on-life-in-the-saddle\/","title":{"rendered":"Leading amateur jump jockey Zac Baker on life in the saddle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With the Cheltenham Festival taking place this week the Sports Gazette spoke to amateur jump jockey Zac Baker about his career in the saddle.<\/p>\n<p>SG: What\u2019s your earliest racing memory?<\/p>\n<p>ZB: I\u2019d say when Dad used to shoe a lot of horses at Bath Racecourse [<em>Zac\u2019s father was a blacksmith]<\/em>\u00a0that was the first racecourse I ever went to, and I always have memories of standing in the number box by the pre-parade ring and handing out numbers when I was about seven or eight, if that. I wasn\u2019t really that interested up to that point but when I started riding later on I really got into it.<\/p>\n<p>SG: Was there anything in particular that led to your love of racing?<\/p>\n<p>ZB: Obviously following my brother George a lot [<em>Zac\u2019s elder brother George was a successful flat jockey, riding 1,364 winners before a serious fall curtailed his career<\/em>]\u00a0I used to watch a lot of racing on the telly, and I used to enjoy going to a lot of the big meetings if George was riding at Ascot, or Epsom on Derby day, that was great fun.\u00a0 When I started actually getting into it myself and jumping a few poles and watching McCoy, that really got me going.<\/p>\n<p><a id='B9nNxTidSb1BuU5Qke_xFg' class='gie-single' href='http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/469324694' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;'>Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'B9nNxTidSb1BuU5Qke_xFg',sig:'yX4p9uisnD-r88N13HouTf1UN6IPnDdk51XIJEjQqIA=',w:'468px',h:'594px',items:'469324694',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14px\"><em>AP McCoy, Zac Baker&#8217;s racing hero<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>SG: Who was your racing hero when you were growing up?<\/p>\n<p>ZB: I think it would have to be AP McCoy.\u00a0 It\u2019s a very generic answer but he was brilliant to watch and the way he conducted himself and the way he went about things was brilliant.<\/p>\n<p>SG: Did you try to base your style on him at all?<\/p>\n<p>ZB: I think you can mix a few peoples\u2019 styles.\u00a0 McCoy, the way he went about things in general was brilliant, I try to be a bit more stylish and mix a few of those top jockeys, they\u2019ve all got their positives and negatives.\u00a0 McCoy was always very strong but he wouldn\u2019t be the most stylish.\u00a0 People always think of Richard Dunwoody as being the first style icon, the way he rode with the toe in the iron and a flat back, I try and base myself on a couple of jockeys and pick out the good points.<\/p>\n<p>SG: What has been the highlight of your racing career so far?<\/p>\n<p>ZB: Everyone\u2019s going to remember me winning on The New One [<em>in the\u00a0Welsh Champion Hurdle in 2017<\/em>], it was a brilliant win and I didn\u2019t really feel the pressure until after I\u2019d won on him, I thought \u2018crikey I\u2019ve just won\u2019 and it all sunk in.<\/p>\n<p>But I think BenBens in the same colours was a bit more of a thrill, he wasn\u2019t fancied and he\u2019d always been a bit of a bridesmaid finishing second and third, and I got on really well with him. Sandown would be one of my favourite jumps tracks, and the way he went round there and jumped the fences it was fantastic, he never missed a beat and it was just the best thrill ever coming up that hill and winning on the line, especially on the oldest horse in the race.<\/p>\n<p><a id='V8W1kCZyT_pFYMnCJVKokw' class='gie-single' href='http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1096489142' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;'>Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'V8W1kCZyT_pFYMnCJVKokw',sig:'co0z2DGhrNIG3XHxRGW72ehLoOIkASce6FKm7yiyu1E=',w:'396px',h:'594px',items:'1096489142',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-size: 14px\">Zac Baker won the Amateur Riders&#8217; Handicap Chase at Ascot in January, aboard Blue Flight\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>SG: What is your ultimate ambition in racing?<\/p>\n<p>ZB: I\u2019ve always wanted to get to 100 winners, by the end of this season I think I\u2019m going to do that [<em>he is currently on 92 winners combined, between 60 in Point-to Points and 32 in National Hunt races<\/em>].\u00a0 I\u2019m not quite sure after that, a lot of professional jockeys want to ride their claim out [<em>75 National Hunt wins<\/em>]\u00a0that would be amazing if I could do that, but it\u2019s not a million miles off.\u00a0 I think something ridiculous like only 3% of jockeys ride out their claim.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d love to ride 100 winners Pointing, that would be the next one. I hate setting overall goals, I like to pick little ones along the way.\u00a0 If you set one massive one it might take you your whole career to reach it.\u00a0 I\u2019m enjoying it at the moment, that\u2019s the main thing.<\/p>\n<p>SG: Why does the racing lifestyle appeal to you?<\/p>\n<p>ZB: As much as I might complain about having to work all day I actually enjoy having a busy lifestyle.\u00a0 I can never sit still for too long, it\u2019s very boring.\u00a0 I really like living life at a million miles an hour.\u00a0 Going and schooling horses over fences, riding out every day, I ride as many lots as I can and work all day and then when you finish that\u2019s it, I\u2019d fall asleep on a barbed wire fence if I needed to, I\u2019d be that tired. I\u2019d rather it be that way round than sitting in an office all day, whittling away and having a really boring time of it.\u00a0 Working with horses is brilliant, I\u2019ve always got on quite well with them, and they don\u2019t talk back to you, which is fantastic.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JiAzpjcH5MU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>SG: We all know about jockeys and their struggles with weight, what struggles have you had? [<em>Zac is unusually tall for a jockey, at 6\u20192\u2019&#8217;<\/em>]<\/p>\n<p>ZB: Over my career, the first couple of seasons I was always very light, because I hadn\u2019t really filled out.\u00a0 The more I\u2019ve gone on I go through stages; when I got to 18 I got a bit heavier and then when I got to 21 I got heavier again, and now I\u2019m probably heavier than I\u2019ve ever been. It\u2019s a massive struggle, especially when you\u2019re so busy, to try and concentrate on your weight every day, it can make you depressed and you see a lot of jockeys getting depressed over it.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m quite lucky in that I\u2019ve stuck to the amateur route and so I haven\u2019t had to kill myself to make the weight, there\u2019s the occasional ride I\u2019ll have to get it down for, but I think I\u2019m a lot better off, keeping it at a level weight.\u00a0 And being so busy it helps a lot because you don\u2019t have time to eat loads, and when you do stop you fall asleep most of the time, and you forget to eat so that\u2019s a bonus!\u00a0 I could improve my diet but it\u2019s a hard one to think about it all day every day.<\/p>\n<p>SG: As a jump jockey there\u2019s the ever-present dangers that go with racing, what\u2019s your philosophy in terms of the dangers and how do you approach it?<\/p>\n<p>ZB: Everyone knows they\u2019re there, and there\u2019s no bravery without fear and we all buzz off the high, and if you weren\u2019t scared of it you wouldn\u2019t get the same buzz.\u00a0 But I think the high is better than the injury at the end of the day and like McCoy said, \u2018pain is temporary, glory is forever\u2019, I think if it was more safe and there was no risk of injury it would be quite boring and everyone would do it.\u00a0 It\u2019s a shame when you do get injured because you\u2019re missing out on rides and you\u2019re pulling your hair out, and obviously there\u2019s the pain and all the rest of it. But you enjoy it so much that you push yourself through it.\u00a0 I think I\u2019ve always taken it as the risk is worth the reward at the end of the day.<\/p>\n<p>A bit like F1 drivers, they\u2019re going at 200 mph all day and if they crash it\u2019s pretty likely they\u2019re going to hurt themselves.\u00a0 But the health and safety in racing\u2019s got a lot better with helmets and body protectors, touch wood it\u2019s not as bad as when they were going round with cork hats and jumping solid fences.<\/p>\n<p><a id='r-nKjBv1QmduJ0JwaVSVRg' class='gie-single' href='http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/665356016' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;'>Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'r-nKjBv1QmduJ0JwaVSVRg',sig:'NwY3CSOQ9k-Yqz5b3CkQOiGnnqq6Abt2XKmPTuNrmhY=',w:'594px',h:'351px',items:'665356016',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-size: 14px\">All jump jockeys know that a serious injury could be only one race away<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>SG: In terms of animal welfare, the various animal rights groups are quite vocal about racing these days, what would you say to them?<\/p>\n<p>ZB: The health and safety and well-being of horses has come on loads since I\u2019ve been in racing.\u00a0 The vets are so good now looking after the horses, literally every precaution is taken to minimise injury, the sticks are changing and everyone\u2019s on about whip bans, it\u2019s come on in leaps and bounds.<\/p>\n<p>With the Grand National if they made the fences any smaller and plainer, it wouldn\u2019t be the Grand National it\u2019d just be another handicap.\u00a0 If you watch back when the drop on Becher\u2019s Brook was massive, they went a lot slower, but now everyone\u2019s trying to go faster and get fitter and the speed does the damage. If the obstacles are smaller you\u2019re probably more likely to have a fall because you\u2019re going that much quicker and the margin for error is narrower.<\/p>\n<p>Also it\u2019s a case of educating the public, it\u2019s such an open sport, a lot of trainers do tours and it\u2019s brilliant because it gives the background to what goes on before and after races.\u00a0 When you work in racing you end up in a bubble, but I\u2019ve got a lot of friends that love to come and watch racing and the things they say sound stupid to me. They wouldn\u2019t know that the horse gets taken off the lorry here and put in a stable, and then brushed, and then saddled here and led round here and washed off there.\u00a0 It\u2019s so simple to us but to them it\u2019s quite interesting.<\/p>\n<p>SG: Do you think you\u2019ll stay involved with racing when you finish riding?<\/p>\n<p>ZB: Definitely.\u00a0 It\u2019s a tough one because Dad always wanted me to be a farrier, which is a very good job, but it takes a couple of years to learn.\u00a0 I always thought I was a bit too tall for that and all the bending over wouldn\u2018t do my back any good.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think I\u2019d ever train in my own right, having to deal with all the owners I\u2019d be losing sleep over that trying to please everyone.\u00a0 It\u2019s quite tough being the main centre of attention, you\u2019re on the phone 24\/7 answering calls.\u00a0 Maybe travelling head lad or something, I\u2019m quite good at doing the hands-on side of things.\u00a0 I think I\u2019ll jump that hurdle when I get to it but at the moment I\u2019m enjoying the riding and everything else in the yard.<\/p>\n<p><em>Featured image courtesy of Sarah Oliver.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the Cheltenham Festival taking place this week the Sports Gazette spoke to amateur jump jockey Zac Baker about his career in the saddle. SG: What\u2019s your earliest racing memory? ZB: I\u2019d say when Dad used to shoe a lot of horses at Bath Racecourse [Zac\u2019s father was a blacksmith]\u00a0that was the first racecourse I [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":15387,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[57],"tags":[1064,1067,1862],"ppma_author":[4142],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v15.9.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Leading amateur jump jockey Zac Baker on life in the saddle - Sports Gazette<\/title>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/leading-amateur-jump-jockey-zac-baker-on-life-in-the-saddle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leading amateur jump jockey Zac Baker on life in the saddle - Sports Gazette\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With the Cheltenham Festival taking place this week the Sports Gazette spoke to amateur jump jockey Zac Baker about his career in the saddle. SG: What\u2019s your earliest racing memory? ZB: I\u2019d say when Dad used to shoe a lot of horses at Bath Racecourse [Zac\u2019s father was a blacksmith]\u00a0that was the first racecourse I [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/leading-amateur-jump-jockey-zac-baker-on-life-in-the-saddle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sports Gazette\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-13T13:32:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-03-13T14:55:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Zac-Baker-Templebraden.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"948\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"679\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@EddOliver1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@sportsgazette\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"9 minutes\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"Sports Gazette\",\"description\":\"The sports magazine brought to you by the next generation of sport writers\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/leading-amateur-jump-jockey-zac-baker-on-life-in-the-saddle\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Zac-Baker-Templebraden.jpg\",\"width\":948,\"height\":679},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/leading-amateur-jump-jockey-zac-baker-on-life-in-the-saddle\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/leading-amateur-jump-jockey-zac-baker-on-life-in-the-saddle\/\",\"name\":\"Leading amateur jump jockey Zac Baker on life in the saddle - Sports Gazette\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/leading-amateur-jump-jockey-zac-baker-on-life-in-the-saddle\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-13T13:32:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-13T14:55:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/10fec085fbcefd0faadb8f7d63ec0737\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/leading-amateur-jump-jockey-zac-baker-on-life-in-the-saddle\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/leading-amateur-jump-jockey-zac-baker-on-life-in-the-saddle\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/leading-amateur-jump-jockey-zac-baker-on-life-in-the-saddle\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"Home\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/leading-amateur-jump-jockey-zac-baker-on-life-in-the-saddle\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/leading-amateur-jump-jockey-zac-baker-on-life-in-the-saddle\/\",\"name\":\"Leading amateur jump jockey Zac Baker on life in the saddle\"}}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/10fec085fbcefd0faadb8f7d63ec0737\",\"name\":\"Edd Oliver\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b9e151f86148b89376d83b826dc8e62f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Edd Oliver\"},\"description\":\"A keen cricketer at various levels since the late 1980s, after a decade working in Football and Cricket Administration Edd is finally pursuing his love of sports writing. 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