I know this a Jockey thread...but anyway Derek became a Molynuex legend didn't he.
I used to love that big match panel on ITV with Derek,Paddy Crerand...Malc. Allison an others...far better than today's MOTD lot.

Thanks TM

Trainer was J.F. Mason at Little Budworth, Tarporley. G Coleman was the apprentice in 1957. Bit before my time.

Three Great jockeys,Three moderate horses,three brief conversations, Three memories as a young apprentice stable lad.
The day at Newbury  in the late 50s, When i had i thought that the jockey had hit my filly "Wellingborough Pride" too many times and i told him so. Emmanuel (Manny) Mercer.
The day at Hereford when  i had the audacity to tell the jockey,a very tall,very skinny ,hardly out of his teens lad how to ride my horse "Master Mason" in a selling hurdle. David (The Duke) Nicholson.
The day at Wolverhampton ("Turf not A.W.) when i rushed to meet my horse called  "Walker"  who had just won a 3-y-o- maiden by a long looking four lenghts,and asked the jockey what he thought.  "Bad horse wont win again " it never did. Lester piggott

Paulbu Didnt think it won again ,no i didnt listen to Piggott did my money next time at Beverley think it was 7/4 favourite that time. Can you find and that the other two horses and dates would have like to know for old times sake.

Guardamar, Walker had been pretty consistent prior to the Beverley win, form figures of 2322, ridden by Russ Maddock each time, August 10th 1961, Beverley 16f

Walker 4-9-4  R. Maddock 11-10
Glenmore Girl 6-9-3 N Brennan 10-11f
Lincoln Scarlet 4-8-2 J McKeown(7) 100-8

Distances 6 lengths and 5

Rohan & Maddock combination had another winner on the card with Royal Magician in a 2-y-o race at 10-1 on. Ernie Davey won the seller, Dick Peacock won the feature handicap, Harry Peacock won a 2-y-o fillies and Jack Calvert/ Johnny Greenaway scored also. With a double for Jimmy Ehherington it was Yorkshire winners all round.

Wellingborough Pride was May 29th 1959 (just 3 days after Tin Whistle won at York). Sorry but I haven't the date for the N.H. race. Maybe Ged or WhitWhitlaw can help.

Roy Edwards, now there's a jockey whose name rings a few bells. Seem to recall the combination of the two Roys, Whitson and Edwards being a successful trainer/ jockey partnership around forty years ago.

Whitwhitlaw. thank you Info regards Master Mason, could you tell me if David Nicholson rode this horse in the period oct1960 to  April  1961  was convinced that was the horse /jockey combo. might have not been Hereford might have been another midland track.

Nov 20th 1958  Uttoxeter D Nicholson rode Scottish Flake into 3rd place behind Crack O’ Dawn (M.Scudamore).Master Mason started at 100/8 and ran unplaced.

On Feb 20 1961, Birmingham, D Nicholson rode Oakleigh Way. Master Mason (Whiston) ran in the same race.

These are the only two occasions where D Nicholson and Master Mason were in the same race.

thanks for the stories guardamar.
Do you live in guardamar? I know it well.

remember june 1958 apprentice with Dermot(Boggy) Whelan at Epsom ,We had an "Irish" horse as they did those days stay in our yard for the Derby meeting. I was on an old "lead" horse and i had too lead the Irish horse and two others the last mile of the Derby course and then to  let the other three pass  me . With instructions from the Guvernor to me"Dont get in the bloody way" also adding "and try and learn pointing to the lad on the Irish horse" I could have done worse The horse was "Paddys Point" second in the Derby that week,the "lad" was G.W.(Willie)Robinson. Team Spirit(National) Kirrimuir and Anzio (Champion hurdle) Mill House (Cheltenham Gold Cup)were still to come in the future.

Colin Hawkins was a claimer with NH trainer Neville Crump and came to the fore around 73/74. He superceded Crump's two long term stable jockeys Gerry Scott and Peter (Pat) Puckley and along with Dennis Atkins shared most of the stable's runners. Atkins left around 1979 and from then on there was rarely a Neville Crump runner that didn't have Colin Hawkins on board. The combination was still going strong around 1986.

[b]Jockey who I liked a lot in the 60/70 era was Brian Taylor...he had loads of winners then riding for Harvey Leader...sadly died in Hong Kong at the track there.

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Byline: Rodney Masters

AS A guide to his slot in the pecking order of modern day jockeys, Brian Taylor would be a Richard Hughes or a Chris Catlin.

The latter pair, however, have yet to develop Taylor's propensity to weigh out with a pipe tucked into the top of his boot, which he would take out for a few puffs while the horses were circling at the start.

A beacon of inspiration for all today's frustrated young jockeys struggling to make inroads, Taylor took an age to establish himself on even the bottom rung of the ladder, having ridden three winners during a five-year apprenticeship with Harvey Leader in Newmarket. He then signed on for a further three years, but was unable to ride out his claim.

His career reached its pinnacle 35 years ago with Snow Knight's Derby win at 50-1. No jockey, before or since, was closer to Lester Piggott and as they pulled up Piggott, unplaced on Arthurian, congratulated his friend on a first Classic win, before adding, "He must have pissed off with you!" Turning for home, Snow Knight had led Imperial Prince and Giacometti, and that was the order they finished, the winning margin two lengths.

Snow Knight was trained by the late Peter Nelson at Kingsdown Stables in Lambourn, now occupied by Jamie Osborne.

"Brian was very confident about Snow Knight's chance," recalls Nelson's son Charlie, who was 19 at the time and now farms at Baydon, two miles from Lambourn.

"Our colt had been a classy twoyear-old, having run the odds-on Giacometti to a short head in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster, but for one reason or another his form in the Derby trials hadn't been too good and he was third to Bustino at Lingfield.

"However, a few days before Epsom he did the most amazing piece of work and that restored our confidence. Brian was adamant that he wasn't a 50-1 chance..

"I remember that Snow Knight was fired up with adrenaline that day. He dumped Brian a couple of times after leaving the paddock, and as a result they missed most of the parade. My father had agreed with Brian that it was best to let the colt do his own thing in the race and not to complicate matters if he wanted to go on. He went for home six furlongs out.

"Brian came back chuckling about Lester's comment. The two men were very close and rode in similar styles, though perhaps Brian rode a notch shorter. He was a talented jockey, and rode a lot of winners for us around that time, including the sprinter Bay Express." Snow Knight was owned by Sharon Phillips, wife of a Montreal solicitor, and by the August he was transferred to Canada. He won a string of topclass races as a four-year-old and was rated the leading grass horse in North America.

Ten years after the Derby, Taylor was killed in a racecourse fall. He was 45. At Sha Tin in Hong Kong, he was fired headfirst into the ground by Silver Star, who had previously raced in Britain under another name. Silver Star was on occasions reluctant to put down one foreleg, and in a carbon copy fall that same year during a work session, he ended the riding career of Frenchman Philippe Paquet.

Paquet suffered a fractured skull and remained in a coma for three months.

On the day of Taylor's accident, the racecourse commentator was J A McGrath of the Daily Telegraph and BBC TV. " It was the most terrible tragedy," he says. " Brian had seemed unlikely to ride that day because he'd been suffering from shingles. Wally Hood was standing by to take the mount. Poor Brian sustained severe neck injuries, and he died a couple of days later." T AYLOR'S partner for many years was Bridget Biddlecombe, ex-wife of champion jump jockey Terry Biddlecombe. It was going to be his final season riding in Hong Kong, and they planned to marry the following year when returning home to Newmarket, where he was developing a livery stable.

In Hong Kong, Taylor was first jockey to Derek 'T C' Cheng, trainer of Silver Star, and Hood was his deputy.

Hood says: "Brian had ridden in a couple of races that day but was feeling the pain from the shingles. I asked him if he'd be all right for Silver Star and, having been beaten a shorthead in the previous race, he said yes..

The horse came down shortly after the winning line.

"Brian was a popular guy with everyone and he was a great mate of Lester's. They would make fun of one another in the weighing room, and it was entertaining. Brian was one of those larger than life characters and we've all missed him." In Britain, Jimmy Lindley, the former jockey and BBC TV commentator, had been Taylor's regular golfing and shooting partner.

"I've the very fondest memories of Brian and, like Lester, I thought the world of him," he says. "He was a professional in everything he did, and he would always keep us amused, like when lighting up his pipe for a quick smoke down at the start." Hundreds of racing personalities attended Taylor's funeral. His favourite song was played during the service - Frank Sinatra's My Way..

TAYLOR'S BIGGEST WINNERS Palatch 1967 Yorkshire Oaks, In Command 1967 Prix Henry Dellamarre, Exchange 1968 Yorkshire Oaks, Bringley 1968 Park Hill Stakes, Shoemaker 1969 Derby runner-up, Don Giovanni 1969 Deutches Derby, Cawston's Pride 1970 Queen Mary Stakes, Molecomb Stakes, Lowther Stakes, Cornwallis Stakes, champion 2yo filly, Realm 1970 Diadem Stakes, 1971 July Cup, Snow Knight 1974 Derby, Averof 1974 St James's Palace Stakes, Bay Express 1974 King's Stand Stakes, Whitstead 1977 Sandown Classic Trial, Jellaby 1977 Queen Anne Stakes, M-Lolshan 1978 Irish St Leger, Protection Racket 1981 Irish St Leger, Pelerin 1981 John Porter Stakes, Ormonde Stakes, Muscatite 1983 Craven Stakes, Bedtime 1984 Prix Gontaut-Brion

BIGGEST DERBY SHOCKS price/horse year trainer/jockey 100-1 Aboyeur 1913 Tom Lewis/Edwin Piper 100-1 Signorinetta 1908 Oboardo Ginistrelli/William Bullock 100-1 Jeddah 1898 Richard Marsh/Otto Madden 1000-15 Hermit 1867 George Bloss/Johnny Daley 66-1 Psidium 1961 Harry Wragg/Roger Poincelet 50-1 Snow Knight 1974 Peter Nelson/Brian Taylor 50-1 Airborne 1946 Dick Perryman/Tommy Lowrey 50-1 Little Wonder 1840 John Forth/William MacDonald 50-1 Spaniel 1831 Joseph Rogers/Will Wheatley 50-1 Lapdog 1826 Robert Stephenson/George Dockeray 50-1 Azor 1817 Robert Robson/Jem Robinson'Brian was a popular guy with everyone - he was a larger than life character and we've all missed him' .

Great story,hound dog. Remember the horse winning the Derby, but I was not aware of his temperament and his subsequent exploits in America.

great stuff lads....

Colly
I have '67 form for Sat.Jan. 14th.
Winners were...
1.Never Look Back  11/2
2.Defender 6/1
3.JFK 7/1
4.Jamboree 11/10
5.Wave On  6/1
6.Sun Tonic 9/4

In Wave On's race Follower was evens fav. fell at last when leading.

Jack Crowhurst. rode in the fifties early sixties for Jack "Towser" Gosden who trained at Lewes on the south downs.If anyone has any news clippings or info would appreciate it. I first  knew Jack in 1960, I had been with the N.H. yard of Roy Whiston, in those  days there was no summer jumping or A.W. and after April most yards turned all their horses out for the summer ,the majority of yards not bringing them back in until September time. It was in one these enforced breaks that I  headed for Lewes .it was a good arrangement for the "flat" trainer it was  his busy time ,knowing the "lad" would return to a N.H.yard after the summer. The afternoon i arrived at Lewes i knocked on the door of Heath House (It was next door to the Prison) Micheline Lugeon (subject of previous post was not to arrive for some time yet handcuffed in a police van) .Mr Gosden sat me down Tea ,sandwiches and biscuits followed.i had never been treated so well. Sometime after 4.00 a lad about Ten years old came in from school, threw his satchel down and had a quick conversation ,mainly about the way Sussex were doing in the cricket then he was gone.  Mr Gosden asked me if i would like to accompany him on his inspection at evening stables,i was amazed ,no one had ever shown me so much respect.
At the time he had two yards, Heath House (where the late Michael Jarvis was head lad) and the "Nunnery" where Jack Crowhurst was head lad,this he combined with riding many of the Gosden horses, not many winners ,lets say he "Educated" them. The time it took Mr Gosden to get round the "inspection "at evening stables was incrediable,much to the dismay of the lads who were wanting to get done and go home. His eye for detail and all the little things were unsupassed. The professional gambler "Alex" Bird and "Tom Degg"
many big handicap winners were testement to his training abilities. That summer i had a nice safe conveyance to carry me round a  gelding,who was getting on a bit but who had helped to make the "Legend" that was Alex Bird, The horse was "Precious Heather" the medium of a huge gamble in the Ayr Gold Cup. What happened to the Ten year old with the satchel, I wrote to him last year to say that i had worked for his father and what a real gentleman  i had found him to be. Iam sorry to say there was no acknowlegement, no reply. The more than likely Champion trainer for the flat2012 has been a huge success ,whether he has thay "eye" for detail for the people he meets along the way as his father had is another matter.

Mister E. Thanks for that information about Boggy Whelans old Yard, i remember Sam Hanley (Father of Dave Hanley) training next door on Chalk Lane. One horse i remember at the time was a decent  stayer called Gudmenarmist. On the subject of horses graves.
I lived near Worksop in Notts,and on the Mansfield Road near Sherwood Forest,I remember visiting a horses graveyard,they were from long ago and belonged to the Duke of Portland  whos stables used to be close by,Derby and Leger winners ,they were all overgrown by the passing of time,the one i could make out was named "Ayrshire" i hope someone on here can tell me his story ,i would be most interested.
re, Guardamar i had a coffee on the front yesterday the "Mediterranean" looked fine.

Tambers
My memory playing tricks again, I thought Jamboree might have been in there somewhere. Yes  Follower was the one I backed, it would have been a right pay out in those days.