Jockeys
A thoroughbred runs once a day, often with many days and weeks intervening between events and occasionally with long spells.
Contrast this with the other member of the equation: jockeys who frequently ride every contest of a meeting, day in, day out.
Then, consider that even the most productive horses, in terms of longevity, seldom compete for more than three or four seasons, with the rare exception of a few that go on for one or two more years, while the brightest stars of the world of Australian jockeys measure their careers in terms of decades.
The great jockeys of Australian racing history were the ones listed here who had more than their diminutive size to their credit. They survived difficult times, injuries, persecution at the hands of stewards who levied suspensions for subjective reasons and battles with the various demons and temptations that surround the sport of racing.
They were the hoops without whom thoroughbreds such as Kingston Town, Phar Lap and any of the other legends of the track might have been nothing other than interesting anecdotes in the tales of the Australian turf.
Arthur Ward was an Australian jockey that commanded considerable respect. Ward, over the course of his career, rode more winners than all but a few of history's most successful jockeys. Only eight jockeys ever surpassed him, jockeys with names such as Munro, Breasley, Sellwood and Moore to mention four.
Known as the contemporary of George Moore, Australia's greatest ever jockey, Athol Mulley was one of the country's finest jockeys. He formed a formidable partnership with the mighty Bernborough, trained by Harry Plant, to win 15 consecutive races between December 1945 and October 1946.
The small, select group of jockeys that has produced accomplishments sufficient to warrant Australian Racing Hall of Fame induction is filled with individuals whose unique contributions caused them to stand out among the many thousands who have earned their living steering thoroughbreds in the Sport of Kings. One of these jockeys went by the name of William "Bill" Duncan.
Bill Williamson was a jockey who experienced worldwide success during the 50s and 60s. He won the Victorian jockey premiership for the 1951-52 season, which was perhaps his high water mark in terms of producing his lone Melbourne Cup victory aboard Dalray.
William Henry (Billy) Cook, born 12/1/1910, was a jockey who achieved his zenith on either side of the WWll years. Billy Cook won the Melbourne Cup in 1941 and once again in 1945 and won the Sydneys Jockey Premiership 6 times.
Blake Shinn Australian jockey Blake Shinn, the son of one of Sydney 's top apprentice, the late Gerald Shinn, is no stranger to the Australian horse racing tracks. Born to a family of jockeys, it is not surprising that Blake soon rose to fame at a young age both on and off the track. He grew up in Kilmore, Victoria and apprenticed to his stepfather Lee Hope.
Bobby Lewis first racing victories came before the turn of the 19 th century, when he won at a country track in 1892, and then notched his first metropolitan win in 1895. He sojourned briefly in England with his trainer in 1899, but missed his homeland and returned shortly thereafter.
Brian York was Born in Scotland in 1963 and initially rode in New Zealand before coming to Brisbane. Once there, he rode for trainer Bruce McLachlan for seven years. He then moved on to Sydney and began to establish his reputation as a world class rider.
Queenslander, Chris Munce, quickly rose to fame on the Australian race tracks as a jockey par excellence, winning the Australian Racing Grand Slam despite all odds. In between his triumphs, Munce underwent a prison sentence in Hong Kong and Sydney for his alleged role in a cash-for-tips scandal with businessman Andy Lau. While Munce maintains his innocence, he is back to his winning ways back home in Queensland once again.
Australian jockey Corey Brown comes from a family of jockeys. It didn't take long for Corey Brown to follow in his father's and grandfather's footsteps, both successful jockeys during their time.
In 2010, the Sydney Morning Herald in a tribute article to Williams described him as the “Turf Ruler”. Though a little dated from the point of view of references, few would dispute that this title still applies.
Damian Lane is a top Victorian jockey who primarily rides (at time of writing) for trainer Matthew Ellerton. He rose through the ranks, has ridden all over Australia and he has made some international starts as well.
Courage, determination, and the will to win is what sums up jockey Damien Oliver, a Western Australian jockey that made winning a habit. Serious injuries did not stop the flaming jockey from winning major races on the Australian racing circuit.
Darren Beadman was the youngest jockey to ever be inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame when he entered at age 45 in 2007, along with bearing the unique distinction of being the first to do so while still active.
Edgar Clive Britt was one of the greatest Australian jockeys of all time, even though he did most of his riding abroad. Britt won for the first time in 1930 at Canterbury race course in Sydney.
Being a female jockey in a male-dominated sport can be tough but some of them have proved otherwise. A jockey is said to be the most dangerous land-based job in Australia, a fact that hasn't deterred female jockeys at all. They have even made it to the world's richest horse races in Dubai, so they are hard as nails after all.
Frank Bullock came to Australia late in 1905 to ride Blue Spec. This was one of the most productive vacations in racing history, since Bullock managed to win both the Perth Cup and the Melbourne Cup that year. He was inducted posthumously into the Australian racing Hall of Fame in 2006.
Frank Dempsey. Given the extreme risk of falling from high atop a thoroughbred running at a high rate of speed producing life-threatening and career-ending injuries, a jockey that survives and prospers for thirty years in noteworthy in and of itself. Add to that a record of winning the lion's share of important Australian races to the equation, and you have the story of Frank Dempsey (1899-1977).
One of the greatest jockeys to ever don the silks of any stable went by the name of George Moore. The marks he established, first as a hoop, then as a trainer, between his apprenticeship in 1938 and when he retired in 1985 after nearly 50 years.
Glen Boss is a champion Australian jockey well known for his superlative feat astride Makybe Diva, which was three Melbourne Cups in succession from 2003 to 2005.
Grant Cooksley has quietly compiled an impressive record as a jockey that knows his way around the sprints. He has close to 300 wins over the span of his career.
New Zealand-born Greg Childs is a champion jockey that made winning a habit. With over 2,100 wins to his credit, Childs made a mark for himself stretching his success to six countries including Hong Kong, Dubai, and the United States.
Australian Racing Hall of Fame jockey Harold Lindsay Badger (1907-1981) He was a man who went about his business without seeking the fanfare and attention that often accompanies success in the endeavor of horse racing.
Harry White's career spanned 35 years. During this time he became, along with Bobby Lewis, the only jockey to notch four Melbourne Cup victories. This would seem to be the source of the notion that White was at his best at longer distances. Two Caulfield Cups and a W.S. Cox Plate would do nothing other than add to White's reputation aboard stayers.
Jockey Hugh Bowman and the almost invincible Winx raced consecutively more than 30 times unbeaten, The question is: would Winx have achieved such a successful run if Bowman had not been the jockey.
Jack Purtell 2004 Australian Racing Hall of Fame inductee. Jack Purtell was another of Australia's jockeys who enjoyed success both at home and abroad.
Jack Thompson's exact record might be somewhat inaccurate, as records from that era occasionally could be, but Thompson is credited with 3,322 wins, 41 of those coming at Group 1 level. This places him, in terms of wins, beyond even George Moore, Athol Mulley and Roy Higgins.
Jamie Kah has been putting on a clinic in Victoria in the past two years and at just 25 years old is one of the hottest properties in the world of horse racing.
Jim Cassidy is one of Australia's formidable jockeys, among the top seven to win a career grand slam. A competitive spirit and will to win has seen Cassidy through the toughest times which include numerous injuries and riding bans, only to come back with greater determination.
Jim Johnson won his first race in Adelaide in 1945, and then labored until the 1960s, during which time he had won four Adelaide jockey's premierships before he was the recipient of the good fortune of getting a ride on Gatum for that thoroughbred's 1963 Melbourne Cup victory.
James Edward (Jim) Pike (1892-1969) was a remarkable jockey who rode in Australia and England between 1904 and 1936. He is most remembered for his accomplishments aboard first, the legendary Phar Lap, and second, Peter Pan.
South Australian punters hardly ever missed a chance to place their wagers on any horse with John Letts in the saddle. Beginning his career in the 1950s, Letts retired with 2,350 winners.
He’s already been appointed to the boards of the Victoria Jockeys Association and the Australian jockey Association, to look after the interest of his fellow horsemen.
The tale of men cut down in their primes as the result of a horse racing accident is perhaps all too common, yet the danger has never been sufficient to dissuade those determined to follow the path of a jockey on the Australian turf. No better example of this scenario exists than that represented by the biography of Ken Russell.
It takes courage and skill to become a world class international jockey, two qualities that Australian jockey Kerrin McEvoy possesses without the slightest doubt.
Luke Nolen is well recognized in the world of racing, steering Black Caviar to her 22nd consecutive win in the Diamond Jubilee at Royal Ascot.
Malcolm Johnston and Kingston Town first met up in 1979. By the time Kingston Town's days as a runner were through, he had made 41 starts, winning 30 and placing in nine, leaving only two unplaced, one first up as a two-year-old and the other in an embarrassing 20th in the 1981 Melbourne Cup. He did, however, notch an unprecedented and never equaled three successive Cox Plates.
Mel Schumacher was a star apprentice in the 1950s who went on to win numerous Group races in his long and famous career, during which he also had his fair share of ups and downs.
Leonard Ross "Mick" Dittman, also known as the "Enforcer" because of his willingness to apply the stick to a mount when needed, is one of Australian horse racing history's most successful jockeys of all time.
Despite family pressures to take up law as a profession, Neville Sellwood chose to become a jockey. Born in Hamilton, Brisbane, on 2nd of December 1922, his family feared the physical dangers of horse-racing as a career.
Pat Glennon: Oftentimes, glory never comes. Other times, it comes belatedly, sometimes by a narrow margin. This would be the case when jockey Pat Glennon is the subject. His death in 2004 narrowly preceded his 2005 induction into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame.
West Australian jockey Paul Harvey rose from humble beginnings to become one of Australia's leading jockeys. His success in the saddle earned him the nickname of 'The Pontiff' by punters who follow his mounts closely.
Rae “Togo” Johnstone is commemorated as the most successful Australian jockey who ever plied his trade abroad and he was inducted in the Racing Hall of Fame in 2004.
Ron Hutchinson rode for the better part of forty years between 1945 and 1978. His first major win was as a seventeen-year-old apprentice in the 1945 Group 1 Australian Cup, riding a horse by the name of Knockarlow to the post when the race was still being run at 3500 metres, a fine note on which to begin.
Ron Quinton has parlayed his love of horses into a lifelong career, first as a jockey and immediately afterward as a trainer. He was one of Australia 's leading jockeys in the 1970s and 1980s. He currently operates a training facility at Royal Randwick that has produced respectable results that bode well for Quinton's future as a trainer of thoroughbreds.
Roy Higgins dominance during the decades of the 1960's and 70's is all the more remarkable because along with being one of the winning-est, he was also one of the heaviest of all times.
Australia's reputation for producing great jockeys is exemplified by Raymond Shane Dye. To say Shane Dye has enjoyed a successful career is something of an understatement. Born in 1966 in New Zealand, Shane Dye moved to Australia in the late 80's after establishing his prowess as the New Zealand Champion Apprentice between 1983-85.
Stathi Katsidis. Great Australian Jockey who died at a very young age. Stathi Katsidis was a multiple Brisbane premiership winner with a national high of 175 winners in 2009 season.
A riding technique that relied on finesse and the superb use of hands and heels, along with an uncanny ability to judge the pace of a race were the Hallmark of William “Billy” Pyers (1933-2004). He was also a favourite of the Australian racing public due to his captivating, exuberant personality.