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Having been one myself with only a little sucess apart from the Obvious, Francome, Scu, Jonjo, Dunwoody, ETC . . . Who did you rate?
Ok my list is a bit like this, Graham Thorner, Colin Tinkler, Steve Smith Eccles, Neil Doughty, I must mention a Jockey i worked with for some years too who was a tough cracking rider and that was Sandy May, ah the memories, god bless him wherever he is!!!
Throw some good old gems at me!!! . . . . .Peter Haines [Derek Kent]
Roger Rowell [Miss Auriol Sinclair]
Johnny Haine [Bob Turnell?] a very stylish rider I believe.and the late, great Paul Kelleway [F. Winter]
I used to be a fan of Roy Edwards when I first got into horse racing. He rode mainly for George Owen and Roy Whiston but picked up the odd ride from Fred Rimmell.
What about Robert Earnshaw! He must have been a fan of the great stylist
Fred Archer! You didn"t say they had to be good Jockeys!Barry Brogan was one of my boyhood heroes. What about Terry Biddlecombe, Josh Gifford and Bob Davies. Agree that Graham Thorner was very good. He appeared on a recent Antiques Roadshow from Ascot nice to see him looking fit and well.
Agree about Graham McCourt too a much underrated jockey and must not forget that toughest and nicest of men Adrian Maguire.
M. Molony
Won Gold Cup on Silver Fame circa 1948 retired and living happily in Co Limerick.Once asked for "an extra hand" when offered a whip by a trainer on a morning gallop.Barry Brogan was one of my boyhood heroes. What about Terry Biddlecombe, Josh Gifford and Bob Davies. Agree that Graham Thorner was very good. He appeared on a recent Antiques Roadshow from Ascot nice to see him looking fit and well.
Agree about Graham McCourt too a much underrated jockey and must not forget that toughest and nicest of men Adrian Maguire.
If Barry Brogan was a boyhood hero, bbobbell, you’ve probably read his book. "The Barry Brogan Story" in his own words. A truly amazing character. One of his greatest high lights was when he won five races, off the belt, at Wolverhampton It was a massive shame the drink got the better of him or he really would have been one of the all time greats.
Johhny Haine, Josh Gifford, David Nicholson and David Mould were all excellent.
Terry Biddlecombe is a must for any list. Stormin Norman and Mark Dywer had great hands, Jonjo was brilliant in every department as was the great Ron Barry. Others like Phil Tuck, PA Charlton, Colin Tinkler, Neil Doughty and Alan Brown was like a sack of potatoes but it didn’t stop him riding bundles of winners. Never saw anyone tougher than Chris Grant or met anyone funnier than David Gouling who was a law unto himslef but a brillian pilot. Brad was excellent and also a law unto himslef but in a different way to Davy
The best of them all. Without a shadow of a doubt John Francome for me. Never saw anyone sit a horse like him. Graceful, Quick thinking and horses jumped for fun when he rode them. An excellent judge of pace and a brilliant brain. If he had a weakness it was riding a finish but he was so good that seldom came into play.
PS Never thoughtI would live to see the day I saw a better jockey but AP McCoy is everything Francome was and more.
"Martin(Molony) was the best steeplechase jockey I ever saw and that includes masters like Bryan Marshall and the present day artist John Francome".From Alex Bird 1985 TheLife and Secrets of a Professional Punter
I recall Dessie Hughes who won 2 Champion Hurdles on Monkstown talking about Martin in awe of his talents.He rode in both the Epsom Derby and the Aintree Grand National.What more can a jockey achieve?He was a peer of both Charlie Smirk and Bryan Marshall.Enough said.Over fences, John Francome had few superiors, in my opinion, though Richard Dunwoody wasn’t far behind. Jonjo O’Neill was a very strong in a finish and probably pips Francome and Dunwoody in that department. Peter Scudamore, like Tony McCoy, was very strong and also possessed an enormous will to win.
Luke Harvey just missed the cut, as did dear old Dicky (Crisp) Pitman.
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