Seb Sanders (born 25 September 1971 in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) is a former

flat race National Hunt flat races, informally known as bumper races, are a type of flat racing but run under National Hunt racing rules in Britain and Ireland. National Hunt flat races were created on 15 July 1891 when a conference between the stewards of ...

jockey. Sanders was British Champion Flat Jockey in 2007, a title he shared with Jamie Spencer.

Early life

Born in Birmingham, Sanders' father, a plumber introduced him to racing by a chance meeting of Tamworth based trainer Bryan McMahon. Sanders himself was keen to be a professional footballer for

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

, but his father was able to secure him work at McMahon's yard. After which, McMahon sent Sanders to the British Racing School in Newmarket.

Career

Sanders rode his first winner on 12 June 1990 on Band On The Run at

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wak ...

. In 1994, Sanders moved to Reg Akehurst's yard in Epsom and won the 1995 Champion Apprentice title, with 61 winners. Sanders' first Group 1 success came in the 1997 July Cup where he won on the 50-1 outsider, Compton Place. In 2004, Sanders joined Sir Mark Prescott in Newmarket replacing

George Duffield __NOTOC__ George Duffield MBE (born 30 November 1946) is an English retired flat racing jockey. He served a seven-year apprenticeship with Jack Waugh, and rode his first winner on 15 June 1967 at Great Yarmouth Racecourse on a horse called S ...

. Sanders and Prescott had a close relationship, and in his opening year with Prescott, Sanders won the

Preis von Europa The Preis von Europa is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Cologne over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to take place ea ...

with Albanova for

Kirsten Rausing Kirsten Elisbet Rausing, DL (born 6 June 1952) is a Swedish businesswoman, who owns a third of the holding company Tetra Laval and sits on the company board alongside other members of her family. She was listed as the 150th richest individual ...

. He would also win the

Irish 2,000 Guineas The Irish 2,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is ...

onboard Bachelor Duke and the

Nunthorpe Stakes The Nunthorpe Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged two years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is sched ...

with Bahamian Pirate . In 2006, Sanders won the

Prix de Diane The Prix de Diane, sometimes referred to as the French Oaks, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 2,100 met ...

, giving Prescott his first Classic success, that later saw Sanders receive an eight day ban. In the 2007 championship season Seb Sanders shared the

British flat racing Champion Jockey The Champion Jockey of flat racing in Great Britain is the jockey who has ridden the most winning horses during a season. The list below shows the Champion Jockey and the number of winners for each year since 1840. The seasonal record of jockeys' ...

's title with

Jamie Spencer Jamie Spencer (born 8 June 1980, in County Tipperary) is an Irish flat racing jockey currently riding in the UK. He has been champion jockey in both Ireland and Britain and has won seven classics, five in Ireland and two in England.

. On the final day of the season at Doncaster, their seasonal totals finished level at 190-190, when Spencer won the last race of the season. The following year, Sanders added two more Group 1 successes to his tally with Kingsgate Native in the

Golden Jubilee Stakes The Platinum Jubilee Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. Three-year-olds foaled in the Southern Hemisphere are also eligible. It is run at ...

and Look Here winning the Oaks at Epsom. Sanders' last British Group 1 victory came for Sir Mark Prescott in the

Cheveley Park Stakes The Cheveley Park Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it ...

with Hooray. In the same year, he won the Qatar Derby with Beethoven. In his later career, Sanders was noted for struggling with weight and notably at Goodwood he rode a race not wearing boots.

Retirement

Sanders took a hiatus from racing in Britain in 2016. Later, he would be revealed as a work rider for Godolphin at Charlie Appleby's yard in Newmarket. Alongside his work riding, Sanders is a member of the

Sky Sports Racing Sky Sports Racing (formerly At The Races) is a British pay television channel devoted to horse racing. A joint venture between Sky Group and Arena Racing Company, it broadcasts coverage of domestic, European and international horse racing eve ...

broadcast team. In 2022, Sanders returned to ride in the Ledger Legends race at

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

Major wins

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

- (1) - ''Hooray (2010)'' *

- (1) - ''Kingsgate Native (2008)'' * July Cup - (1) - ''Compton Place (1997)'' *

- (1) - ''Bahamian Pirate (2004)'' * Oaks - (1) - '' Look Here (2008)'' ----

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

- (1) - ''Confidential Lady (2006)'' ----

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

- (1) - ''Albanova (2004)'' ----

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

* Irish 2,000 Guineas - (1) - ''Bachelor Duke (2004)'' ----

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

* Qatar Derby - (1) - ''Beethoven (2010)''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Seb 1971 births English jockeys Lester Award winners Living people British Champion flat jockeys British Champion apprentice jockeys