George Baker All-Weather Championships interview

Will Hayler catches up with George Baker, who is hoping for another successful All-Weather Finals Day at Lingfield on Friday.

For George Baker, this time of the year really does offer the best of both worlds – the climax of the All-Weather season in this Friday’s Finals Day at Lingfield, soon to be followed by the return to top-class racing on turf.

With 38 winners he is once again flying high in the All-Weather Champion Jockey standings, and despite not yet being clear as to what he is set to be riding in this Friday’s £1.1million All-Weather Finals programme at Lingfield, he is still looking forward to seeing the action unfold.

“I’m hoping to ride Tigers Tale in the Mile for Roger Teal, but beyond that I just have to leave it to my agent to do the work for me!” he says.

“I can’t be disappointed with how things have gone this season. My target would have been to ride about 50 winners and I’ve ridden 38 so far, so we’re not that far behind.

“The stables I have ridden for in the past haven’t quite had the number of runners they had on the All-Weather in the past and Godolphin have kept a bigger team back for these races, who have won a large number of races.”

If, however, you imagined the remarkable success of Charlie Appleby’s Godolphin team would attract some animosity from Baker, you’d be wrong. Not only is he impressively level-headed about the ebbs and flows of fortune, he remains a passionate supporter of All-Weather racing and the financial support that has created not only the world’s richest non-turf race day, but also a clearly-defined All-Weather Championships programme, with prize money to boot.

“The All-Weather Championships have been a huge success and even a quick look through the results will tell you that the standard of horse has really improved,” he says.

“The field for the main event, the Easter Classic, is well up to Group Two standard and the other races aren’t far behind.

“The Godolphin horses have been nothing but good, they’ve added to depth to a lot of races and generally improved the standard overall.

“A horse like Tryster [ante-post favourite at 4/5 with Sky Bet for the Easter Classic] is a product of their change of policy and a prime example of why it’s working for them.

“If he’d been kept back for the turf season, he’d be starting off short on experience, but as it is he’s learnt his trade, shown everyone what a good horse he is, and earned plenty of prize-money in the process.

“He’s a good horse and I’m looking forward to seeing him again this week, but I’m not convinced that he will definitely confirm his Winter Derby form with Grendisar.”

Last year Baker rode an incredible 162 winners in total, but it speaks for the prestige of the All-Weather Finals that Litigant’s victory in the All-Weather Marathon Championships gave him his third-biggest payday of the year, behind Thistle Bird’s Group One success in Ireland and Al Kazeem’s gutsy second to Noble Mission in the Qipco Champion Stakes.

Time will tell whether Baker gets the chance to try and repeat that victory, but who does he like most in this year’s line-up?

“Hurricane Higgins is one that really caught my eye when he came back to win at Lingfield last month,” says Baker. “Nicky Henderson does really well with his Flat runners.”

Whatever happens on Good Friday, though, Baker has a lot more to look forward to in 2015, for it’s not just the All-Weather Championships lighting his fire, but the prospect of getting back among the winners on turf too.

Having missed out so narrowly on a second Champions Day victory when the Roger Charlton-traned Al Kazeem was denied by Noble Mission at Ascot last October, Baker hopes to renew his acquaintance with that horse later this season and possibly get a chance to make amends.

“It was a heroic run at Ascot, as he’d taken plenty of work to get fit, because of the way his season worked out,” he says. “He really gave his all, but he’s had a good winter off and by all accounts he’s absolutely flying again and ready to start his season off in France in the Prix d’Harcourt.

“I won’t be able to do the weight in that race but I’m hoping I get back on him later this season, although I never count my chickens.”

Charlton’s Beckhampton yard is one of the many that the 32-year-old Baker visits every week in order to ride out work .

“It’s important to keep showing your face,” says Baker. “This is a brilliant time of the year to be going into stables, with turf racing really ready to explode in the next few weeks.

“I ride work regularly for Charlie Hills, Chris Wall, Roger Charlton and David Lanigan, but there are several other yards that I pop into when I can.

“It’s exciting to be getting back on horses that you might have had one or two sits on last year and find out how they have matured and developed over the winter.

“Charlie Hills has got some really lovely maidens, a couple of whom I’ve had a chance to ride out, and hopefully I’ll get my chances as the season goes on.

“Lightning Moon is another horse I am looking forward to having the chance to ride again. He was really impressive in the Bengough Stakes at Ascot, considering his inexperience compared to his rivals, and he could go on and be a really top-class sprinter this season.”

At six-foot, Baker remains as tall as they come in the weighing room, but a strict eating regime enables him to ride every day at 9st 2lb or 9st 3lb and the restrictions upon the horses he is able to ride hardly seems to dent his appeal as a jockey – he had 864 rides last year, but still produced a strike-rate of wins-to-rides second only to Ryan Moore.

““Everyone says it gets easier as you get older, but I can’t say it always seems that way to me!” he says.

“I have a great agent [Guy Jewell] who understands that I can’t always get down to ride at 9st, but he also knows that I can when I really need to. The key to managing your weight is not trying to be at your absolute minimum every day. If I can get up in the morning within 2lb of where I want to be, I’m happy.

“I work hard to control it and I’m also lucky that my partner, Nicola, is a great cook who is good at making healthy meals.

“I know it might cost me possible rides, but there’s no point beating yourself up about it. Short of cutting an arm off, I can’t do anything about my height. There’s no point stressing about it. You’ve got to be positive.”

Industry and positivity are prominent qualities in Baker’s make-up. Last year was very good to the jockey, but there’s no reason why 2015 shouldn’t be even better. However, whether that success comes this Friday at Lingfield, or later in the year on turf, he’ll still be looking forward.

George Baker is the ambassador for the All-Weather Championships.

For more information, see www.awchampionships.co.uk