Leading jump jockeys left in limbo after agent upheaval

Super-agent Dave Roberts might have retired six weeks ago, but the ramifications of his decision are still being felt across the weighing room with many leading jump jockeys in a state of limbo.

Roberts, agent to stars such as Tony McCoy and Richard Johnson during his 36 years in the role, has left a gaping hole with a large group of riders on the lookout for a full-time replacement.

The search has been complicated further by Chris Dixon's decision to stop booking rides for some of the jockeys he inherited, including Nico de Boinville and Aidan Coleman, due to an unmanageable workload.

'My head says yes, the body says no' - superagent Dave Roberts calls it a day

As a consequence, Alain Cawley quit the saddle last week after riding a winner at Market Rasen on Friday, describing the opportunity to pick up some of the slack as too hard to resist, while fellow former jockey Sam Stronge is having a second stint as an agent after a hiatus of around five years.

Explaining his decision to scale back, Dixon said: "A group of ten jockeys asked me to take them on and I did, with my brother Martin helping me a bit in the background. However, I realised quite quickly with that number of riders, I didn't have time to do it justice. I could do it but couldn't do it well enough for what's needed. It's a full-time job and it's not the only thing I'm doing."

Dixon, a pundit on Racing TV and a key part of successful ownership group The Horse Watchers, already had Flat jockeys Jason Watson and Cieren Fallon on his books.

Chris Dixon: has scaled back the jockeys under his wingCredit: Edward Whitaker

He is carrying on with jump jockeys Tom Scudamore, Jamie Moore and Sean Bowen at least in the short-term, while De Boinville has already moved over to Stronge, along with James Bowen and Brendan Powell.

Dixon is helping with the transition of Coleman, Jonjo O'Neill Jr, Kevin Brogan and Richie McLernon over to Cawley, who hopes to get his agents' licence this week.

On that quartet, Dixon said: "They are four very good riders with good contacts and there are other jumps riders that will probably filter over to Alain a little bit further down the line."

Cawley said: "I've spoken to the BHA this morning and the plan is to have the licence by the end of this week, so I can take over those lads for Stratford on Tuesday next week.

"I've finished riding and everything is going into this and I'll be giving it my best, and hopefully a few more riders will follow down the line."

Wilson Renwick, another jockey-turned-agent, has taken on five more jump jockeys recently, including Nick Scholfield and David Noonan.

He said: "There were so many jockeys used to working with one person, it's going to take a period of time to settle down and for everyone to work out who they enjoy working with."

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