Taryn Langley walks a path that turned out to be crucial in the career of Turner while making her first performance on a large Saturday card in the Northumberland plate
Taryn LANDLEY could be the secret ingredient that today can deliver Northumberland Plate Glory for Duke or Oxford. The 20-year-old, a student for just 14 months, gets her first chance for the ITV cameras and she would like to have it counted.
Laney, who drove 17 winners this year, has not had a previous connection with the Michael Bell stable this year. But the trainer who helped Hayley Turner in the spotlight, gave her the responsibility to change the third place of last year in the ‘Pitmens’ Derby’ into something even better.
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“My student Joe Bradnam would ride, but he couldn’t do the weight,” Bell explains. “Taryn drives many winners and claims that 7 pounds of Duke or Oxford is a fixture in these races. It will not be easy to be a figure of 95, but the 7 pound claim should make it very competitive.”
Laney has achieved her biggest victory so far over Tides of War in a valuable 2M Handicap in Lingfield on Good Friday for her boss David Simcock, the other trainer who helped the legendary gymnast, who announced her retirement in April, Group 1. It is Turner, a driver of more than 1,000 winners, who has taken the path along which LANDLEY hopes to get ahead.
“Hayley was always very supportive for me and never too busy to sit down and watch a race with me,” says Taryn. “She has always been an influence in which direction I want to push my career. Hayley was the first woman to push the boundaries for us -girls who came behind her.”
She continues: “This will be the first time that Michael Bell has set up me. It is great that he has decided to use me and has the confidence to put me on a horse like Duke of Oxford. I was booked to go to Windsor for my boss David Simcock, but he said this was too good chance to refuse.
Langey, originally from the Cotswolds, showjumped as a child and was a late convert to running horses. She drove as an amateur before getting her student permit with Richard Hughes, when he moved to Newmarket last year and insured a job at Simcock, who gave her successes of group 1 with Bell Turner.
“It has opened many more contacts for me,” she says. “I wouldn’t have been as busy if I encouraged me to drive on other yards without David Simcock.”
With the collection of Laney, LANGLEY hopes to reach a point where she can take on a challenge at next year’s student championship.
“It will never be a smooth ride, but I feel that I could put myself in the race,” she says.
The immediate priority is to show what she can do in the most famous flat race in Newcastle.
“I will be excited to go to bed on Friday and wake up on Saturday morning,” she admits. “There will inevitably be a few nerves.
“It’s great if someone thinks I can get the chance to prove that I can drive well. It will be nice to be on the main stage on a Saturday. Hopefully it can open more doors.”
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