‘Getting a girlfriend is the last thing on my mind… it’s nags and not Wags for me’ says rising star jockey Joe Leavy
RISING star jockey Joe Leavy is turning plenty of heads as racing’s hot new kid on the block.
But it’s nags not wags for now for the talented teen.
Leavy, 18, is the latest wonderkid to be learning his trade at the Richard Hannon finishing school for jockeys.
Hollie Doyle, Tom Marquand, and Rossa Ryan are just a few of today’s riders to have graduated to the big time after doing the hard yards at Hannon’s yard in Herridge, Hampshire.
As most top athletes will tell you, with fame comes distractions and greater attention — and no doubt a few tempations.
However, down-to-earth Leavy has vowed not to let his head get turned by his newfound stardom or, he insists, by girls.
It’s been a whirlwind start to Leavy’s career — even more so when you consider he had a horror fall at 16 which nearly ended his jockey dream before he had even got going.
Thankfully he came through it — and has not looked back since. He nailed a big winner in front of millions on ITV on Derby Day at Epsom.
And that Dash win on Dream Composer came just weeks after a win in the £150,000 All-Weather Championships.
Leavy agrees attention from the opposite sex is an inevitable by-product of sporting success — but he is determined to keep his eyes on the most important prize of all — riding winners.
He said: “The better you’re doing — especially when you have big winners on telly — the easier it will be to find a girl!
“But that’s pretty much the last thing on my mind for now.
“I haven’t really been concentrating on finding love.
“I don’t get involved in that.
“I don’t want to f*** up because when you’re doing well nothing lasts forever. I don’t want it to affect my work.”
Leavy dreamt of becoming a professional footballer — and was good enough to be on the books of Stoke City and Crewe.
However his skills were more in the saddle than in the six yard box. His father Barry trained in the Midlands and Leavy had been riding out at Hannon’s in the summer holidays since he was 14.
Yet his riding career may have ended three years ago due to an accident on the gallops.
Leavy suffered horror head injuries and was put into an induced coma for a week.
He said: “I was in a coma for a week but I was out of action for four months.
“I had a bleed on my brain, a fractured skull and had 70-odd staples in my head.”
The injuries meant Leavy was unable to ride — but it is also meant he was unable to sit his exams at school.
He grinned: “You know, the 16-year-old me was not too upset with not having to sit my GCSEs! That was the one good thing about the fall.
“Besides, I was always coming straight into racing anyway!
“It didn’t freak me out. When you are at this age nothing really phases you.
“The only thing I could think of when I was recovering was getting back on a horse.”
He said: “I was lucky to be riding out at Mr Hannon’s yard in the first place. My dad knew William Stobart who is an owner at the yard and part of the Eddie Stobart family.
“He’s the one who told me I should go and ride for Mr Hannon and see how I got on.
“He asked the boss for me and I sent a little CV of everything I was doing pony-racing wise. Mr Hannon then told me to come down in my summer holidays and ride out.
“When I was 16 I moved down full-time to do an apprenticeship. My mum and dad came too.
“Mum is now one of the secretaries for Mr Hannon and and dad is a head lad.
“They came down for a different sort of life and dad was ready for a change.”
Having one of the country’s leading trainers like Hannon put his faith in you is worth a pretty penny in the confidence department.
Leavy said: “Simply being in the yard and getting that support off from him is a boost.
“The firepower and the horses that they’ve got as well — it’s insane.”
“Thing is with Mr Hannon is that he’s very fair. He knows the time of day. He knows when you’re working hard.
“He has always put a lot of trust in apprentices.
“He can give you good rides and he’s got the power. He knows when the time is right he can put you on the map.
“Last year was almost a learning year but this year has felt different.”
Any successful apprentice quickly has to weigh up just how valuable their claim is.
The faster you burn through it, the sooner you’re riding against the household names with no allowance. Will the trainers still want you?
It’s the Catch-22 that Leavy is weighing up after riding 20 winners so far this season.
He needs only 19 more wins to lose his 5lb claim.
Leavy is back at Newmarket on Saturday to ride Talis Evolvere (4.00) for his boss in the ultra-competitive Bunbury Cup.
Leavy said: “I’m very eager to ride it out, but at the same time I don’t want to ride it out for people looking to just use me for my claim.
“It’s very valuable and once it’s gone, I’m pound for pound with the likes of Ryan Moore and William Buick. On paper people are going to automatically go for them because they are who they are — it’s quite scary.
“Everyone will tell me there’s no rush to riding my claim out, but all I want to do is ride it out, it’s almost like turning a new leaf, and it’s a big achievement too.”
But Leavy’s not just a workhorse — he’s savvy too.
He knows that quality over quantity will be more useful in the long-term.
The weighing room is a dog- eat-dog world and Leavy is doing everything in his power to make a success of it.
As he drives to the races, he listens to his heroes on podcasts trying to decipher what it is that makes the top stars so good.
Leavy explained: “It’s partially talent, but how clever you are is really important.
“You’re going so quick; you’ve only got a split second to make decisions and the top lads are so mentally tuned up.”
So far, Leavy has made only the right decisions — and don’t expect to see him on Love Island anytime soon.
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