I think a very interesting point about jockeys can be seen from the following table

Good Jockeys

Name      Rides  Wins  2nds  3rds

C Brown    903   137   125   121

N Callow   686   145   100    75

G Childs   515    66    59    35

C Munce    623   106    56    68



Not As Good Jockeys

Name      Rides  Wins  2nds  3rds

A Findlay  465    36    55    39

S Wynn     378    19    23    22

T Uchiyama 226    26    32    34

With the first set of jockeys, they ride more winners than 2nds and 3rds....
The second group ride more 2nds and 3rds than winners.
Munce's win vs place strike rate is extraordinary to say the least....

I don't necessarily agree that just because they're good jockeys they get the plum rides... I think quite often owners / trainers will seek out the good jockeys on the hope that they will win on their donkey, and it doesn't always happen. And a good jockey wants to fill his riding card just as much as the next jockey.

I also agree that jockeys can have their off days just like horses. Munce's short term strike rate is well off at the moment, a very ordinary 8% vs a long term of 14%.

Cheers,
Chris.

[ This Message was edited by: stebbo on 2003-10-09 10:24 ]

[ This Message was edited by: stebbo on 2003-10-09 10:26 ]