Category Archives: Jockeys

Belfast-born Thomas Richard Dunwoody MBE, who retired from race-riding, on medical advice, in December, 1999, after a long-term neck injury, which led to a loss of strength in his right arm, was aggravated by a series of falls, was one of the most celebrated National Hunt jockeys of his generation. He began riding, as an amateur, for the late Tim Forster at Old Manor House Stables, near Wantage, in the Vale of the White Horse, in 1982 and rode his first winner in Britain, Game Trust, at Cheltenham the following May.

In his first season as a professional, in 1984/85, Dunwoody rode 46 winners and must surely have gone close to winning the Grand National on the favourite, West Tip, trained by Michael Oliver, had the 8-year-old not fallen, when travelling conspicuously well, at Becher’s Brook on the second circuit. In any event, in 1986, by which time Dunwoody had become stable jockey to the late David Nicholson, but was released from his retainer on Port Askaig – who parted company with Graham McCourt at the first fence – to ride West Tip, the partnership set the record straight, winning the National by 2 lengths and 20 lengths from Young Driver and Classified.

Dunwoody won the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Charter Party, trained by Nicholson, in 1988 and the Champion Hurdle on Kribensis, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, in 1990. In 1989, he also began his association with Desert Orchid, trained by David Elsworth, on whom he would win seven races, including the King George VI Chase twice, in 1989 and 1990.

For all his early success, though, Dunwoody did not win the jockeys’ title for the first time until 1992/93, by which time he had succeeded Peter Scudamore as stable jockey to Martin Pipe. That season he rode 175 winners and retained the title in 1993/94 and 1994/95, with 197 and 160 winners, respectively.

In 1994, Dunwoody won the Grand National again, on Miinnehoma, trained by Pipe and owned by Liverpool comedian Freddie Star. That year, the race for the jockeys’ title featured an engaging, head-to-head battle between Dunwoody and the 23-year-old Adrian Maguire, who had replaced him as stable jockey to David Nicholson. Despite being banned from riding for 14 days – which included the Cheltenham Festival, in its entirety – on March 2, after being found guilty of deliberately obstructing a horse ridden by his arch rival, Dunwoody, with the resources of Pipe at his disposal, won the jockeys’ title by a score of 197-194.

At the end of his career, Dunwoody had ridden 1,874 winners, including 1,699 on British soil and, like his predecessor at Pond House Stables, become the most successful jockey, numerically, in the history of British National Hunt racing.

Thomas Brendan ‘Tommy’ Stack is probably best remembered as the jockey who, following a disagreement between Brian Fletcher and Donald ‘Ginger’ McCain, rode Red Rum to an unprecedented third win in the Grand National in 1977.

Born in Moyvane, Co. Kerry, Stack began his riding career in Britain, at the age of 19, with veteran trainer Robert ‘Bobby’ Renton – who saddled Freebooter to win the Grand National in 1950 – at Oxclose, near Ripon, North Yorkshire in 1965. Initially an amateur jockey, Stack turned professional in 1967, at the insistence of the Jockey Club.

The following year, Lurline Brotherton bought Red Rum out of a selling handicap, over 7 furlongs, at Doncaster for 1,400 guineas and sent him to Renton. In 1969/70, Stack rode Red Rum 14 times over hurdles without winning and, in 1970/71, in his first 12 starts over fences, in which his form was fair, if unspectacular. In 1972, though, Red Rum finished fifth in the Scottish Grand National at Ayr, catching the eye of McCain, who subsequently bought him, on behalf of Noel Le Mare, for 6,000 guineas at Doncaster Sales the following August.

By that time, Renton had retired, leaving Stack as both trainer and jockey at Oxclose. Stack soon surrendered the training duties to Tony Gillam and, in 1974/75, having become stable jockey to William Arthur Stephenson at Leasingthorne, near Bishop Auckland, County Durham, won the jockeys’ for the first time with 82 winners. Stack was Champion Jockey again in 1976/77 with 97 winners and, of course, made history by winning the Grand National, by 25 lengths, on his old friend Red Rum.

Stack retired at the end of the 1977/78 season, at the age of 32, having ridden a total of 602 winners under National Hunt rules. Aside from the National, his major winners also included True Lad, trained by permit holder William ‘Bill’ Swainson, in the Schweppes Gold Trophy, now the Betfair Hurdle, in 1977 and Strombolus, trained by Peter Bailey, in the Whitbread Gold Cup, now the Bet365 Gold Cup, in his retirement year.

Peter Michael Scudamore MBE, who retired in April, 1993, after a 15-year career as a National Hunt jockey, never won the Grand National or the Cheltenham Gold Cup, but has the distinction of having won the jockeys’ title more often than anyone except Sir Anthony Peter McCoy. Scudamore rode his first winner under National Hunt Rules, Rolyat, trained by Toby Balding, in an amateur riders’ handicap hurdle at Exeter in August, 1978. He soon decided to turn professional, though, and became stable jockey to David Nicholson at Cotswold House in Condicote, near Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire.

Indeed, it was in that capacity that Scudamore became Champion Jockey for the first time, in 1981/82, but only after reigning champion John Francome magnanimously refused any more rides after drawing level with the injured Scudamore, thereby sharing the jockeys’ title with him. Francome later admitted that he thought Scudamore was ‘accident-prone and that he would never get the chance to be a champion again’.

Francome was wrong, very wrong. In 1986, Scudamore rode a notable double on Solar Cloud in the Triumph Hurdle and Charter Party in the Ritz Club National Hunt Handicap Chase, both trained by Nicholson – the first winners at the Cheltenham Festival for jockey and trainer, after eight years of trying – and won the jockeys’ title outright for the first time with 19 winners.

Having subsequently succeeded John Francome as stable jockey for Fred Winter, and Paul Leach as stable jockey to Martin Pipe, Scudamore would win the jockeys’ title for the next six years running and, in 1988/89, become the first National Hunt jockey to ride 200 winners in a season. His seasonal total (221) winners, smashed the record (149), set by Jonjo O’Neill in 1977/78 and, while it was subsequently been surpassed, several times, by Tony McCoy and, latterly, by Richard Johnson, it is worth remembering that it was achieved long before the advent of so-called ‘summer jumping’ in 1995.

Scudamore won the Champion Hurdle twice, on Celtic Shot, trained by Winter, in 1998 and Granville Again, trained by Pipe, and his total of 13 winners at the Cheltenham Festival also included Pearlyman, trained by John Edwards, in the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 1987. Elsewhere, he won the Welsh National four times, on Run And Skip, trained by John Spearing, in 1985, Bonanza Boy, trained by Pipe, in 1988 and 1989 and Carvill’s Hill, also trained by Pipe, in 1991 and the Hennessy Gold Cup twice, on Strands Of Gold and Chatham, both trained by Pipe, in 1988 and 1991, respectively.

Scudamore ended his riding career on a high note, winning on his final ride, Sweet Duke, trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies, at Ascot. All told, he rode 1,687 winners on British soil – 792 of them saddled by Martin Pipe – and was Champion Jump Jockey eight times.

A graduate from the point-to-point field, Richard Johnson rode his first winner under National Hunt Rules, Rusty Bridge, trained by his grandfather, Ivor, in a hunters’ chase at Hereford on April 30, 1994. In 1995/96, under the tutelage of the late David Nicholson, he succeeded A.P. McCoy as Champion Conditional Jockey, at the age of 18.

However, A.P. McCoy was Champion Jockey for 20 years in succession and, for 16 consecutive years, Johnson had to settle for second place behind his contemporary. Of course, Johnson enjoyed plenty of success, gaining just reward for his loyalty to a small band of trainers, including Nicholson, Philip Hobbs, to whom he has been stable jockey since 2000, Henry Daly and Tim Vaughan.

In 1999, he rode his first winner at the Cheltenham Festival, Anzum, trained by Nicholson, in the Stayers’ Hurdle and, a year later, won the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Looks Like Trouble, trained by his now father-in-law, Noel Chance. In 2002, he won the Queen Mother Champion Chase on Flagship Uberalles, trained by Hobbs and, the following year, won the Champion Hurdle on Rooster Booster, also trained by Hobbs. In so doing, he became one of just three jockeys still riding – the others being Barry Geraghty and Ruby Walsh – to have won all four ‘championship’ races at the Cheltenham Festival.

Nevertheless, Johnson remained largely under the radar and, for a long time, looked destined to become the best jockey never to win the jockeys’ title. That was, of course, before McCoy retired at the end of the 2014/15 season. In 2015/16, Johnson enjoyed his most successful season ever, numerically, with 235 winners – including Native River, trained by Colin Tizzard, in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase at Aintree – to become Champion Jockey for the first time. In January, 2016, he also reached the landmark of 3,000 winners, on Duke Des Champs in a novices’ hurdle at Ascot.

In 2016/17, Johnson enjoyed further high-profile victories on Native River in the Hennessy Gold Cup and the Welsh Grand National, before finishing third on the same horse in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He also won the Future Champions Finale Juvenile Hurdle and the Triumph Hurdle on Defi Du Seul, finishing the season with 189 winners to take the jockeys’ for the second year running. In 2017/18, Johnson rode 176 winners, including Native River in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, to become Champion Jockey for the third consecutive year, and continue an unbroken run of 22 seasons in which he had ridden over a hundred winners.