New summer jumps championship incentive unveiled

Saturday will see a new summer jumps championship launched with a prize fund of £30,000.

There will be awards for the leading jockey, owner, trainer and small trainer.

The small trainer prize will be open to yards with less than 30 winners from the 2024-25 trainers’ championship.

The trainer and small trainer awards will be split between the stable staff of the winning yard, with each category offering a pot of £7,500.

Top-three finishes will accrue points, with more on offer for bigger fields of eight or more runners.

The competition starts at Cartmel on Saturday and will conclude at Newton Abbot on September 19.

The championship was devised by the Racecourse Association and racing director Kevin Walsh said: “It has been a longstanding aspiration of the RCA to develop a championship to celebrate summer jumps racing.

“I am pleased that with the support of stakeholders across the sport we have been able to launch the championship this year, which should create additional excitement for followers of summer jumps racing and reward the most successful jockeys, owners and trainers who support it.

“This inaugural championship will hopefully be the first of many, and we look forward to growing this new asset to British racing’s calendar with the support of the participating racecourses and members of the Thoroughbred Group.”