Champion Gordon leaps to defence of ex-boss Moore

Champion apprentice Josephine Gordon has defended her former boss Stan Moore after a Racing Post column highlighted he received, through Weatherbys, in the region of £25,000 from her prize-money earnings last year.

Lee Mottershead on Monday wrote about the PJA's call for changes to be made to the financial relationship between trainers and apprentices, who automatically lose 50 per cent of all prize-money won to the trainer with whom their licence is held, regardless of whether or not they were riding for that trainer.

The PJA wants apprentices to receive a bigger cut of prize-money, in part because it claims many trainers are failing to honour a BHA requirement for them to pay expenses to their young riders.

Mottershead used the example of Gordon to highlight how under current rules some trainers can reap the rewards that apprentices achieve when riding for other trainers.

Moore, her boss last season, was able to benefit to the tune of around £25,000 as Gordon rode to the title and earnings from her mounts of £728,496 in prize-money.

Over jumps, conditionals retain all prize-money won.

'I have to give him a lot of credit and thanks'

But Gordon, who won the apprentices' title last year, said in her 32Red blog: "I think Stan has been painted in an unfair light. Stan always supported me. And he always wanted what is best for me. He was the only one giving me opportunities when no-one else wanted to.

"When things got going and I had some success, he wanted me to ride the majority of his horses, but by then I had other options then and he was quite happy to let me ride for other trainers. For that, I have to give him a lot of credit and thanks."

Gordon added: "Halfway through my claim, I was only in riding out once a week for Stan. The rest of the time I was elsewhere. But Stan was still paying my full wages.

"I know the current situation is probably not ideal, and some apprentices do struggle, but I think for the Racing Post to single him out is not fair.

"Even now I find there’s the odd day that I’m out of pocket. Sometimes you are paying to ride the horse. But that’s just the way racing is. Sometimes you have to look to the future and at the bigger picture, work hard and hopefully get the rewards."

From the archives: click here for Josephine Gordon interview