Who is Tabitha Worsley? Meet the rider aiming to become the first female winner at the Grand National today
The jockey is an outside shot at Aintree this afternoon but has set her sights on a historic win
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Your support makes all the difference.Tabitha Worsley will be seeking to cap a remarkable comeback with a historic win at the Grand National this afternoon.
The English jockey is aiming to become the first woman to win the historic race at Aintree, just years after breaking her back in a fall.
Worsley is one of three female jockeys, along with favourite Rachael Blackmore and Bryony Frost, taking part in the biggest race of the year
The Grand National returns at Aintree this afternoon following its cancellation last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Here’s everything you need to know about the jockey ahead of the Grand National today.
Who is Tabitha Worsley?
Worsley’s parents were both horse masters and she has been riding horses for as long as she can remember. She started competing in pony racing from a young age, and she was given her first ride at senior level at the age of 16.
She broke her back following a fall in 2017 and still has the metal plates and pins that were inserted by surgeons to fix her spine. Worsley returned to racing a few months later and triumphed in the Foxhunters’ Chase at Aintree in 2018.
Worsley says legendary jockey Ruby Walsh is one one of her inspirations.
What horse is she riding?
She will line up on the 12-year-old Sub Lieutenant, a horse that she knows well.
It is trained by her father, George Howell, who owns a number of horses at the family stable.
What are her odds?
Sub Lieutenant is an outside shot at 100-1.
What has Worsley had to say?
“We’d be thrilled to be top 10, but he [Sub Lieutenant] has got the form to say that top 10 is realistic,” she told the Guardian this week.
“I’m usually pretty calm, I always say there’s no point in getting nervous. If you’re nervous or scared, there’s no point doing it.
“I’ll probably be a bit less calm than I normally am, but it’s an amazing opportunity for us and ultimately, we’ve just got to go out and try to enjoy it, and if we get a bit of luck, we could go close.”
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