26 July 2010 Ollie Garnishes CV with Worcester Success
by Carolyn Tanner
Ollie Garner, who has one Point-to-Point victory to his name, opened his account under Rules at Worcester on July 21st when landing the second division of the Amateur Riders' Hurdle on Shergill, trained by his boss Shaun Lycett.
Ollie, who celebrated his 22nd birthday two days later, has previously worked for Kim Bailey and Jonjo O'Neill. He was having his first ride for Shaun, who enjoyed success with Pointers prior to taking out a public licence, although his belated debut was not due to a lack of faith on the trainer's part. "He's tried to give me opportunities but every time we've either been balloted out or the horse has been slightly off colour," explained Ollie, who is hoping to obtain a Category ‘B' licence in the near future.
Involvement in Arab racing has brought Ollie plenty of success. Wearing the colours of Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, he has been booting home the winners in that sphere for champion Arab handler Gill Duffield, for whom, coincidentally, he also triumphed on his initial ride.
His racing efforts, though, are not confined to horsepower, as earlier this year he ran the London Marathon in aid of Racing Welfare, finishing in under 4 ¾ hours.
Trainer Jimmy Fox was on hand at Worcester to witness Ollie's victory, and obviously impressed with what he saw was quick to snap up the jockey's services for a ride at Salisbury three days later. Unfortunately for Ollie, he was unable to maintain his record of "first ride, first win" for a new trainer, as his mount Magic Warrior, a 66/1 outsider, finished well down the field.
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The Worcester card also saw a second Rules double for John Mathias, who won the first division of the Amateurs' Hurdle on Makena and the Handicap Hurdle Division One on Misamon. It was on this pair of ex-Pointers, both trained by Dai Rees, that John had recorded his initial double ten days earlier at Southwell.
Two days later John and Makena notched up their third victory within the space of 12 days by winning over fences at the Nottinghamshire track, although on this occasion they needed the help of the stewards. Makena was carried across the course on the run-in by first-past-the-post Ponchatrain and, with the distance between the pair being only a head, was promoted to the number one spot.
