Wannabe winner Jack Andrews is the world’s tallest jockey and on the lookout to spice up his life with a Cheltenham winner for Geri Halliwell and Christian Horner
It’s a tall order to win races at the Cheltenham Festival, but somebody’s got to do it and jockey Jack Andrews knows that better than most.
Andrews, at 6ft 4in, is the tallest jockey on the planet, and he is ready to Viva Forever in the history books by landing former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell and her F1 supremo husband Christian Horner a race winner to remember.
Horner might spend most of his time globe-trotting while leading his Red Bull team as destroyers of the competition in the pinnacle of motorsport – but he’s looking for Andrews to be the fastest show on turf in Friday’s Hunter Chase on Ginger Spice’s Lift Me Up.
Andrews said: “They’re very busy but I spoke to Christian a few weeks ago and he was in good form – this has been the aim for a long time. I’m sure Geri will be at Cheltenham to cheer us on, but Christian is on duty with Red Bull at the Australian Grand Prix.”
On his thoughts on Lift Me Up’s chances, he added: “I don’t really have a game plan, I’ll just try to get him into a rhythm and play my cards as late as possible. Hopefully he’ll help me out and pick them up coming up the hill!”
The average height for a jockey is just 5ft 2in and Andrews, who dreamed of being a top star as a boy saw his height rocket from 5ft 10in at 17-years-old to a towering 6ft 4in.
“As a kid I always liked racing. I watched it and followed it and I liked the form and stuff,” he said. “When I first started riding around the age of 15 or 16 I was tall but not as tall as I am now.
“I was probably 5ft 10in when I had my first ride so I was okay and then when I got to about 17 I really shot up again and that is when I got quite tall.
“There was a fear I might not be able to make it as I grew up thinking I would be a professional rider when I was older.
“When I had that growth spurt it was a bit of a kick in the teeth. But I always felt I could still ride as an amateur and in point-to-points – which I’ve managed to do.
“The big one I want to tick off the bucket list is to ride a festival winner. It would be a brilliant achievement.”
Because of his height Jack, from Dunchurch, near Rugby, Warwickshire, said he faces a constant battle to maintain a racing weight.
“It is tough with your weight but you get to a point where you have to suck it up and deal with it. That was the long and short of it,” he said. “I told myself this is the situation that I’m in and I’ve got to deal with it the best I can.
“There is not a day that goes by when I don’t think about the scales. Every hour of the day I think about my weight, 365 days a year. But I have my own set routine I try to stick to most days in regards to a balanced diet.
“I eat the same sort of things most days and it seems to work for me and that is what I go with. I would have a coffee when I come out in the morning on the way to the yard then I would muck out and ride one out.
“I would then have breakfast and I would have yoghurt and fruit like bananas and blueberries with granola and maybe a cup of tea. To be fair I would eat that even if I wasn’t dieting as I really enjoy that.
“Then I would ride out for the rest of the morning then at lunch I would probably have a yoghurt bar and a banana then in the evenings I would have some protein like a bit of chicken or some prawns and maybe a yoghurt pot and maybe another yoghurt bar.
“I’m quite partial to a chocolate Hobnob when I come back in the evening. That is my daily treat. I allow myself to have one or two of them with a cup of tea when I get back in the evening from work.”