Jack Andrews

The reigning men’s point-to-point champion jockey is shaking off the shackles of having famous sisters to chase some major ambitions, finds Gemma Redrup

- Gemma Redrup

IF ever there was a surname synonymous with point-to-pointing, it would be Andrews. And the latest member of the Andrews dynasty to make their presence well and truly known is Jack, who claimed the men’s national title last season, despite it being cut short by three months due to Covid.

“It will always be in black and white that I was champion jockey in the 2019/20 season and that was the way I told myself I had to look at it,” says 22-year-old Jack pragmatically. “A lot of people said I earned it and I feel proud of it, but there’s definitely an overriding feeling that I want to do it in a full season to try to get more satisfaction from it.”

Jack was five winners clear of his nearest rival when the curtain fell on the season early last March.

“There’s nothing better than going down to Umberleigh on the last day of the season, knowing you’re going to be crowned champion. I managed to experience that when I won the novice title in 2017. The whole chase through the season, trying to fend off rivals or trying to catch the one at the top right up until the final day – I missed that feeling in 2020,” he says.

A defining point of Jack’s winning season was when he bagged 11 winners from 18 rides over the course of two weeks. This purple patch culminated in riding a four-timer at Ampton, a day he pinpoints as the highlight of his career.