Sir Gordon Richards
| Sir Gordon Richards | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 May 1904 Donnington Wood, Telford |
| Died | 10 November 1986 |
| Career wins | 4,870 |
| Racing awards | |
| British flat racing Champion Jockey 26 times | |
| Honours | |
| Knighthood (1953) | |
| Significant horses | |
| Belle of All, Big Game, Cameronian, Migoli, Nasrullah, Pasch, Pinza, Reform, Sun Chariot, Tudor Minstrel | |
Sir Gordon Richards (5 May 1904 – 10 November 1986) was an English jockey. He was the British flat racing Champion Jockey 26 times and is often considered the world's greatest ever jockey. He remains the only flat jockey to have been knighted.
Gordon Richards was raised in the Shropshire village of Donnington Wood (now part of Telford), the son of a Shropshire coal miner. His father reared several pit ponies at their home, and it was in this environment that Sir Gordon fostered his love of the equestrian. He rode the ponies bareback from an early age, then from the age of seven, drove the pony and trap passenger service his family ran between Wrockwardine Wood and Oakengates station. It was at that age no doubt that he developed his unique riding style, using a long rein and an upright stance. He had two brothers, Colin and Clifford, who shared this love of horses and also became jockeys: the latter was a Classic winning jockey.
After leaving school he took the first step towards becoming a jockey, becoming a stable boy aged 15 at Fox Hollies Stable in Wiltshire, owned by Jimmy White.
It wasn't long before his riding skills were noticed by his new employer, who gave him his first ride in a race at Lincoln. Not long after his debut he won his first race at Leicester in March 1921. With the determination and single-mindedness that was his trademark, he achieved his dream of becoming a full-fledged jockey in 1925, and went on to become Champion Jockey in his first year, notching up 118 wins.
Early in 1926, five years after Richards' racing debut, disaster struck the Shropshire jockey. He contracted tuberculosis and had to take time out from racing. But it was while he recuperated from the debilitating disease in a Norfolk sanatorium he met Bill Rowell, a fellow patient who was to have a major influence on his life. Rowell proved to be something of a mentor, teaching the young jockey how to cope with the riches that would come his way, as well as his popularity with high society in the class-ridden system that prevailed in Britain between the wars. The two became firm friends.
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