Tom Clover

Apprentice Laura Pearson is taking a break from riding until the start of the Flat season in March. Pearson, who currently has a five-pound claim, announced the news at Wolverhampton on Sunday. On top of the apprentice jockeys' title race with 22 winners, Pearson has 23 winners left before her claim is reduced to three pounds. Pearson made the call after discussing the issue with trainer Tom Clover and her agent Steve Croft. "We've had a good chat about it, myself and the governor [Clover] and my agent--and you've got...

NEWMARKET, UK—It's hard not to feel like Christmas has just been cancelled. The Flat turf season doesn't revolve around Newmarket, of course. There are more than 14,000 horses in training in Britain and only about 2,500 of those are based in the East Anglian town, but that does make it the busiest training centre and, as the place where it all began, Newmarket lays claims to being the sport's unofficial HQ. Having emerged from the wettest and windiest of winters with the start of the turf now just days rather...