THE race to be Champion Jockey is heading for a thrilling conclusion with a week-and-a-half of the Flat season to go, but the battle between Jim Crowley and Silvestre de Sousa is not the only title tussle due to be decided before Ascot stages the final race of Qipco Champions Day on October 15.

The fight to be crowned Champion Apprentice for 2016 is every bit as fierce, and this afternoon Catterick found itself assuming centre stage as the leading protagonists locked horns. On a notable day for Flat racing in the North, it was surely only fitting that a North Yorkshire venue was in the spotlight, showcasing the next generation of riding stars.

Four hours before the start of racing, it was announced that the Champion Apprentice trophy, sponsored by Stobart Group, was being renamed in honour of former jockey and racing journalist Tom O’Ryan, who recently lost his battle against cancer.

O’Ryan, who worked for The Northern Echo’s sister publication, the York Press, was a doyen of the Northern racing scene, and a devoted champion of up-and-coming jockeys at the start of their career. Having shared a press box with him on a number of occasions, I’m pretty sure he would have loved the honour.

“I knew Tom well when I was based up north,” said Paul Hanagan, a former Champion Apprentice who went on to win a Champion Jockey title. “He was always a great help to us in the weighing room and helped me out as a young jockey. He was a racing man through and through, and understood the game well.”

O’Ryan would surely have been impressed with the three riders in contention for this year’s Champion Apprentice crown, two of whom were in action at Catterick.

Josephine Gordon currently tops the charts, with yesterday’s 24-1 double on board Fine Resolve and Maid Of Tuscany in the two divisions of the Skyram Handicap taking her to 48 victories for the season, four clear of her closest rival, Tom Marquand, who will leave the apprentice ranks before the end of the month.

The Devon-born 23-year-old could have gone to Leicester or Brighton yesterday, but her decision to make the long trip north from her Lambourn base was rewarded as she opened up a potentially decisive gap at the head of the apprentice rankings.

The Northern Echo:

Her ride on Fine Resolve highlighted her ability, as she eased her mount alongside the leader, Miss Tree, in the final two furlongs before cruising home to win by a comfortable two-and-a-half lengths.

But it was her performance aboard Maid Of Tuscany that really showcased her class as she negotiated her way through a 13-runner field from the final two places to hit the front inside the final furlong.

It was a perfectly-timed move, leaving her rivals with no time to haul her back in, with Gordon’s mount eventually finishing three-quarters-of-a-length clear.

“It was a bit of a gamble coming here because I obviously had options to go elsewhere, but I thought both of these horses would have a good chance,” said Gordon. “It meant a four-hour drive up the road, but I’d won on the first one last time out at Bath and I couldn’t see it getting beat, and the second horse was a close third in the same race.

“That puts me four clear, and I always knew I’d need at least that margin because I’m sure he (Marquand) will finish strong. It’s nice to have a little cushion, but a lot can happen yet.”

Gordon is now an odds-on favourite to lift the Champion Apprentice crown, and is set to travel the length and breadth of the country in the next ten days in an attempt to emulate Amy Ryan (2012) and Hayley Turner (2005), who are the previous female winners.

The Northern Echo:

She was the leading apprentice during the winter all-weather season, although it is just a little over 12 months ago that she was seriously considering quitting the saddle.

She spent almost a year-and-a-half without riding a winner, and was ready to walk away from racing before partnering Shamrock Sheila, a 25-1 shot, to a two-length win at Bath. From that moment onwards, she has not looked back.

“I spent a long time without riding a winner, and it knocked my confidence completely,” said Gordon. “I was ready to give it up and call it a day.

“Then I had that winner and it was a feeling of relief. I thought, ‘Now’s my chance to ride a few more winners and give it a go’.

“If that hadn’t happened, I would probably have moved abroad and ridden track work in America or something. I was looking at jobs over there. I hadn’t quite made my mind up, but I was thinking, if nothing changes, I’ve got to make my mind up because it was a bit disheartening.”

Adam McNamara is third in the apprentice standings, although the Malton-based teenager is now 11 winners behind Gordon despite partnering Henry Smith (17-2) to victory in the Sponsor Grant Tuer’s Marathon Running Handicap.

McNamara rode the perfect race as he tucked the winner away on the inside before breaking clear, and just being in contention for the inaugural Tom O’Ryan Trophy means a lot to the 19-year-old, who worked closely with O’Ryan at Richard Fahey’s yard in Malton.