Sky Bet ditch walk-in girls to raise profile of IJF at Cheltenham Festival

Sky Bet, sponsor of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, will not be using walk-in girls for the first race of the Cheltenham Festival but instead use the journey to the winner’s enclosure to raise the profile of a designated charity, with the Injured Jockeys Fund chosen this year.

Next Tuesday Sky Bet plan to not only offer the IJF the honour and profile of walking in the first race winner, but will also donate £5,000 to the charity.

For its part, the IJF has given the honour of walking in the festival's first winner to one of its many beneficiaries, former jockey Richard Hawkins.

Hawkins, whose riding career was ended by a serious fall at Taunton in 2011, said: "Personally, like every young jockey, it was my dream to one day walk into the winner's enclosure at the Cheltenham Festival and even though I'll be leading in front of the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle winner – rather than on board – this is the next best thing not just for myself but also for promoting the vital work of the Injured Jockeys Fund."

Sandro Di Michele, head of PR for Sky Bet, said: "We have long felt the use of walk-in girls for promotional uses has had its day in sport and the time was right to use this exposure opportunity more positively.

“As soon as we decided this, we knew that the Injured Jockeys Fund was absolutely the right charity to work with for the first winner's walk-in."

In addition to Sky Bet's £5,000 donation to the IJF, the firm is encouraging Cheltenham racegoers and fans watching at home to also give what they can to the charity. They can do so by donating online at www.injuredjockeys.co.uk.

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