X Factor star set for wild profession change 14 years on from discovering TV fame
Union J star JJ Hamblett is on the comeback trail – and his mission is to reach the number one spot. But this time he’s not practising for a stadium tour, but his return to the world of competitive horse racing after well over a decade.
The ex-apprentice jockey will be riding in the Lester Legends Race, an annual charity horse race for retired pros, at Doncaster Racecourse on September 11. Here he tells Jon Lees how preparations are going…
It’s been 17 years since JJ Hamblett took the last of more than 250 rides as a budding professional jockey. And he’s finding the training every bit as gruelling as a stint in the X Factor’s Boot Camp.
JJ Hamblett has been getting back in the saddle
“When I sat back on a horse for the first time in 15 years, I thought I’d be on a trotter but [trainer] John Gosden sent me to ride two horses up Warren Hill. I literally couldn’t walk for two days,” he says.
“Now I’ve started galloping and my legs are sore. But I have to admit it’s lovely to be back.”
The 38-year-old made his name on the ITV reality show, as one quarter of boyband Union J, with Josh Cuthbert, Jaymi Hensley and George Shelley. But until then he was all set to join the family business.
JJ’s father Paul and older brother Ashley were jockeys so a career in the sport seemed inevitable. He joined the legendary Sir Michael Stoute as an apprentice, riding his first winner in 2005, one of 23 wins over five seasons.
But since 2010 his life has been far away from racing’s capital Newmarket, where he grew up.
JJ and the lads on the X Factor in October 2012(Image: Ken McKay/Thames/Shutterstock)
“I have had nothing to do with racing. I was living in Cornwall. I was in Union J for seven years. And I was doing other bits here and there, some acting.
“In 2020 we got back for our ten year anniversary, but I hadn’t sat on a horse for 15 years. When I moved back to Newmarket I got that hunger again and my best friend suggested riding in the Legends Race. So I thought I’d give it a go for one final time.”
JJ will have recently retired Frankie Dettori among his opponents, if he recovers from a recent car accident. But he also has plenty of racing friends in his corner, including his partner, former jockey Hayley Turner, and jockey Rab Havlin.
JJ attends British Champions Day at Ascot Racecourse in 2019(Image: Getty Images)
“My first ever race was at Doncaster over a mile for Sir Michael Stoute, so now I am doing a 360 to ride again at the same track at the same distance,” he went on. “I’ve always missed it. So to have the opportunity to do it again for a fantastic charity like the Injured Jockeys’ Fund is fantastic.
“If I win that would be the pinnacle but it’s very competitive. Frankie is a good friend, and it was sad to hear of his accident, but hopefully he makes it to the Legends Race.”
JJ is documenting his comeback for a YouTube series as he sets off on the challenge of relearning the skills he had abandoned to become a pop star.
Union J dolls launched in 2014(Image: Getty Images)
“I loved to sing growing up,” he recalls. “I am someone who chases adrenaline and I like to push my boundaries to see how far I can go. I had loved horse racing, but it was the actual races I was fixated on. I struggled with my weight and when the rides started to dry up it was very difficult to keep my weight down.
“At the same time as riding out, I was going back and forth to London for auditions. We had a band called Rewind, which became Triple J when we were invited to audition for the X Factor.
“We got as far as Bootcamp and I thought ‘That’s it, I’m going to be a singer’. But we got kicked out and I went back to riding out at John and Thady Gosden’s. I was gutted. Then two weeks later they got in touch and said, ‘We want you back’. Fifteen years later, I’m now back at John and Thady’s.”
JJ has fond memories of his time on the singing reality show
Union J were eventually eliminated at the semi-final stage of the ninth X Factor series. They signed a record deal and reached number six with their first single ‘Carry You’. The group was voted Best British Breakthrough Act at the BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards.
“There were so many pinch-me moments,” says JJ. “The X Factor experience was fantastic. It was extremely hard but I wouldn’t change it for the world. Getting through to Judges’ Houses was one of the best moments of my life, when they said ‘Yes’ and ‘You’re going through to the live shows’.
“Not many people who do the X Factor have successful careers after. We were very fortunate. We had a great team around us. We had two number ones, a sold out UK tour, a book. It was just a brilliant journey.
“Even to be able to do reunions now is fantastic. We are looking at doing a 15-year reunion. We haven’t decided if it’s going to be a tour or a show next year but we’ll be doing something.
“I miss that adrenaline. It’s the same kind of feeling when you’re on stage, performing in arenas and stadiums. That’s what I’ve been missing after Union J split up. Now I get to do it again by riding in the Legends Race.”
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