Watch the all-access, behind-the-scenes series on Virgin Media One at 9pm Sunday 15th September and anytime on Virgin Media Play
Wednesday 4th September 2024: Virgin Media Television will air a new horse racing docuseries, as the world of jump jockeys will be seen like never before.
Starting at 9pm Sunday 15th September on Virgin Media One, the gripping new six-part series is about high speed, high obstacles, high emotions, high risk and even higher stakes.
If horse racing is the Sport of Kings, then Champions: Full Gallop promises to get under the skin of the game’s gods, lifting the lid on one of the most thrilling sports on the planet, gaining unprecedented access to the major players, high rollers, and key protagonists.
It reveals:
- A fly on the wall view of the weighing room.
- The reason millionaire banker and owner Rich Ricci can’t reveal how much he has invested in racehorses.
- Paul Nicholls‘ unedited & raw reaction when his former protege Dan Skelton “pokes the bear”.
- Jockey Sean Bowen’s superhuman 6-week recovery from an injury that would take a Premier League footballer 12 months.
- Weighing room antics & midrace mind games during the biggest festival of the year.
- Unique insight into Dan Skelton and jockey Harry’s unbreakable bond as brothers.
- How Irish raider Willie Mullins plundered dreams and coffers of British racing.
- An intimate look at Nico de Boinville‘s home life and what goes through his mind when he hits the turf.
In this gripping new six-part series viewers will get a backstage pass to the lives of jockeys and trainers connected to horses competing in the most exhilarating sporting events on earth during the 2023-24 Jumps season.
Taking in all the elements that make racing such a compelling sport, from the visceral risk a jockey takes while perched perilously on top of a 500kg thoroughbred as they soar over fences, to the charismatic owners – salt-of-the-earth syndicates to royalty – and trainers and stable staff who invest so much in the welfare of their horses.
Produced by South Shore, supported by Flutter and Racecourse Media Group (RMG), the programme gives fans access all areas, from weighing rooms to stable yards, as cameras follow the dramatic high-octane thrills, emotion, and drama both on and off the racetrack.
Champions: Full Gallop has it all, from exclusive interviews with jockeys Harry Skelton, Harry Cobden, and Sean Bowen in their rollercoaster fight for the title of Champion Jockey, to 14-time champion trainer Paul Nicholls’ efforts to retain his as his former assistant Dan Skelton nips at his heels…until the shadow of Irish raider Willie Mullins looms large.
Racing, like you’ve never seen it before.
“Injuries are part of the game. It’s not a matter of if, but when.” – Nico de Boinville.
“There’s good banter with the other jockeys. When you’re doing something like we do, where ambulances follow you around, you can’t be too serious.” – Gavin Sheehan.
“If you ask Sir Alex Ferguson about all his years at Man United, he’ll tell you it was all about winning.” – Paul Nicholls.
“He (Frodon) always held me tight, and for that I owe him everything.” – Bryony Frost
Praise for Champions: Full Gallop
“I don’t know the full ins and outs of racing. But, honestly, I’m all in after that. It’s brilliant. I’ve watched a lot of the sports documentaries and the one thing I want to know are the things you’d never dream of seeing. That was a proper peek behind the curtain” – former England footballer Peter Crouch
“It’s really exciting, it’s exceptional and it’s adrenaline-filled” – Broadcaster Vernon Kay
“When you get taken so close to the action, you crave to see more. It is why Champions: Full Gallop is brimming with the potential to leave armchair viewers gasping at racing’s omnipresent danger or bonding with the infectious characters – human and equine – who make the sport what it is” – Daily Mail
