Jockeys past and present make special visit to patients at Alder Hey

Jockeys past and present made a special visit to patients at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital on the eve of the Randox on Friday.

Harry Cobden, Nico De Boinville, Sam Twiston-Davies, Harry Sketon and Rachael Blackmore were among riders in attendance, along with Grand National winner Sir AP McCoy.

The stars had their pictures taken with staff, patients and parents and handed out signed jockey goggles and racecards, as well as teddy bears.

The 2012 Grand National winner, Neptune Collonges, joined them and the famous grey horse put smiles on the faces of everyone as he posed for pictures at the Liverpool hospital, as part of the annual visit organised by The Jockey Club ahead of racing on the second day of the Festival, Ladies Day, at Aintree.

Former jockey AP McCoy, who won the Grand National in 2010 on Don't Push It, praised Alder Hey Children's Hospital as a "very special place" during the visit.

He said: "I've been associated with the hospital for as long as I can remember, and it's amazing how much it has developed and changed.

"It's very different coming here when you have kids of your own. You have a different outlook on it. It's a very special place, and it's somewhere Liverpool should be very proud of.

"When you come here and see what some of the kids are going through, you don't realise how lucky you are, and how lucky we all are when you think what people are going through here."

Fresh from victory on Gaelic Warrior in the Brooklands Golden Miller Chronograph Bowl Chase on Aintree's Opening Day, Patrick Mullins visited Alder Hey for a third year.

He said: "I wouldn't miss it. It is tough, but it is good as well, and it puts everything in perspective. If you can get a smile or a laugh it does mean an awful lot.

"We see horses every day, but a lot of the parents or kids haven't seen or touched a horse, so it's amazing to see how they interact with Neptune Collonges and how well he interacts with them. It's a different perspective on our day-to-day lives."

Reigning champion jump jockey Harry Cobden said: "It's great, it's a tradition for lots of jockeys to come here. If you can go around and brighten up someone's days for two-and-a-half hours taken out of our day it's only a good thing.

"You see how incredibly tough it is for so many of these kids and their families, and it makes you realise that there's more to life, your job and all the rest of it. It's very eye-opening to come here.

"It's not too much hardship for us to give up a little bit of our time to come here and brighten up someone's day."

Nico De Boinville admitted it was "great" to give patients and families a "reprieve".

He said: "You get a real sense of what racing means to everyone here. There are some kids here in really tough situations, but if we can provide them with a minute's reprieve that's all we can do. It's great to see the kids and the parents.

"A lot of us have kids ourselves, so I think we can all relate. Alder Hey do a fantastic job and it's nice to know there are places like this in the country that can help out. There's a really good turnout, so fair play to everyone for coming today."

Sam Twiston-Davies added: "It's always nice to get the invitation to come down. It puts everything into perspective.

"You get to see some very brave families, and children, and it puts what we do in perspective. We get quite carried away at times and get disappointed with results at the track, but we have to remember how lucky we are.

"It's amazing to see how good Neptune Collonges is with the kids, and how happy it makes everyone to see him. It's one of the small things we can do, and if it brings out some happy faces that's the least we can do."

Ten-month-old Theo, who has Leukemia and is being treated by Alder Hey's oncology department, was one of the youngest patients to meet Neptune Collonges, and he even tried to give the horse a snack by offering him his biscuit.

Theo's mum, Emma Wilding, from Burscough, said: "It was gorgeous seeing the horse.

"We were in yesterday for 11 hours for treatment, and we were in today for a couple of hours, so it's nice to be able to get off the ward for a bit and see something different, but still be here.

"Theo tried to give the horse his biscuit. He likes to share, but then he was like, 'No, it's mine'. 

"We love the races. Me and my husband go every year, but we are gutted we're not going this year."

Oscar, 13, from Frodsham, Cheshire, who is being treated for IBD (Inflammatory bowel disease) at Alder Hey, loved having several jockeys visit him while he was in his hospital bed.

He said: "It was quite good seeing them. They were really nice. It was really nice of them to give me a teddy and goggles."

Fiona Ashcroft, CEO of Alder Hey Children's Charity, said: "It's always such a special day. Everybody really looks forward to it. It's been lovely seeing all the children and families, and our staff as well, all outside getting their chance to meet Neptune Collonges. He's so good with the children.

"He's so gentle with them. It's amazing to see the children who are quite nervous coming up to him really feeling relaxed. And also for the children to get to meet the jockeys. Some of our children might be at Alder Hey for quite a long period of time, so it's great for them to really feel like they're part of such a big event in Liverpool.

"They'll be watching it on Saturday, and they'll know that they've met some of the jockeys and they'll be rooting for the ones they've met today. They'll feel part of something that really feels part of Liverpool. I think that's really special.

"It really means so much to the children to see the jockeys. And for us, it feels like we're bringing that magic to Alder Hey, so this was really special.

"We're so incredibly grateful. I know how busy they all are. I'm always amazed they go from race to race, and it's such a busy time for them to take time to come and spend hours here with the children.

"It's truly wonderful, so we really appreciate it. It's such a powerful partnership that we've got with The Jockey Club. We will be celebrating our 25th anniversary next year, so it's incredibly important. We have big plans. It's just a magical day."