Funeral details announced for Triumph Hurdle-winning jockey Steve Jobar

The funeral of former jockey Steve Jobar will take place at St Swithun's Church, Wickham, near Newbury, on Monday, December 2, at 1pm.

Jobar, winner of the 1980 Triumph Hurdle aboard Heighlin, died this month after living bravely with motor neurone disease for a long period of time.

No flowers are requested but donations to the Reading and West Berkshire branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association would be appreciated.

Death of owner Thomas Woods

Thomas Woods, part-owner of Ella Pickard's stable star Bullets Hill, has died at the age of 86. Woods attended every race of the four-time winner and was a key part of Pickard's Vincent's Farm, based near Taunton. 

Pickard said: "Thomas was a passionate supporter of jumps racing and loved his days racing with his grandson Simon. He will be deeply missed by many people." 

Thurles jumps fixture cancelled on Thursday following inspection

Thursday's fixture at Thurles has been cancelled with the surface found to be unsuitable for jump racing following an inspection on Monday morning.

The track's fixture on October 31 was also cancelled due to the impact of sustained dry weather.

Lorcan Wyer, IHRB clerk of the course at Thurles, said: “Following an inspection this morning, the track at Thurles remains unfit for jump racing and the fixture scheduled for this Thursday has been cancelled. 

“There was minimal rain at the track over the weekend as this sustained period of generally dry weather continues. The outlook for the coming days remains mainly dry. 

“We will once again liaise with Horse Racing Ireland about the possibility of a new date later in the season.”

BHA publishes enhanced safeguarding and human welfare education

The BHA has emphasised the need for all of the sport's participants to "contribute to a universal culture of respect" after publishing enhanced online safeguarding and human welfare education.

A refreshed e-learning module, available to complete on Racing2Learn, replaces and builds on the existing online training, which was introduced in 2018.

The training, which includes new modules covering areas such as sexual harassment and bullying, remains a licensing requirement for trainers, jockeys, valets and agents, with all licence-holders expected to complete the new online module by no later than April 1, 2025.

Matt Mancini, the BHA's head of safeguarding and human welfare, said: "We fully recognise that excellent levels of care and support already exist, with many employers taking their responsibilities extremely seriously and putting the necessary protections in place to support people across our sport.

"However,  we also know about the challenges and the need for us all to do more to embed consistently high standards of behaviour. This is evidenced by the reports made to the BHA, particularly around bullying and sexual harassment, as well as independent research into the experiences of women in our sport.

"Safeguarding and the wellbeing of our people is everyone’s responsibility; we all have an important role to play in promoting good behaviours, acting where conduct falls short of our high standards, and contributing to a universal culture of respect. This is critical to the long-term success of our sport."

Public voting for 2024 Cartier Awards is open

The public vote for the 2024 Cartier Racing Awards is open, with horseracing fans invited to have their say before the deadline on Tuesday, November 12 at noon.

Members of the public can vote in eight categories on cartierracingawards.co.uk. All participants will be entered into a draw to win a special prize from Cartier.

Votes make up 35 per cent of the final outcome and are combined with points earned in Pattern races and the opinions of a panel of racing journalists and handicappers.

• 2024 Cartier Awards: place your vote here

Geldings are eligible for the two age-specific colt categories to ensure Europe's best horses are recognised, while they are also eligible for the Cartier Horse of the Year, Older Horse, Sprinter and Stayer categories.

The 34th Cartier Awards will take place at the Dorchester Hotel in London on the evening of Wednesday, November 20.

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