Cheltenham Festival winner and 'remarkable person' Steve Jobar dies at 75

Cheltenham Festival-winning rider Steve Jobar, who showed astonishing resilience in the face of adversity after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2022, has died at the age of 75. 

The winner of 133 races over jumps between 1968 and 1984, his crowning moment in the saddle came when teaming up with trainer David Elsworth to win the Triumph Hurdle aboard 40-1 shot Heighlin in 1980.

Jobar, who lived in Wickham near Newbury, married his long term partner Dottie Channing-Williams in June 2022, having been diagnosed with the nerve degeneration condition MND earlier the same year. 

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Despite his illness, Jobar raised almost £200,000 at a charity day for the Motor Neurone Disease Association at Newbury in March. Attended by 450 people, the day consisted of a fundraising lunch and silent auction, and the Steve Jobar MND Handicap Hurdle was won by Zain Nights.

Half the money raised went towards funding research for a cure, while the other half went to the association's Reading and West Berkshire branch which supported Jobar and his wife following his diagnosis.

Jump jockey Steve Jobar with his wife Dottie Channing-Williams at their home in WickhamCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

"He was a remarkable person," said seven-time champion jockey John Francome, a close friend of Jobar, who competed with him over jumps. "He was an excellent jockey and David Elsworth will testify to that.

"I never heard him swear once, which is rare for anybody involved in racing, and I never heard him raise his voice. He was just a genuinely lovely person."

The son of a steelworker, Jobar initially signed a three-year apprenticeship with trainer Alec Kilpatrick as a 15-year-old boy who had travelled from Sheffield in south Yorkshire to Herridge in Wiltshire. 

As well as his sole success at the festival, Jobar landed the 1980 Midlands Grand National aboard Pacify and partnered Heighlin to finish second in the Cesarewitch on the Flat. He rode his last winner when Prosett won at Chepstow in 1984. 

Jobar’s other great sporting passion was gliding and, until last year, he took part annually in the national championships. He was flying as recently as last November. 

Jump jockey Steve Jobar is surrounded by reminders of his past gloriesCredit: Edward Whitaker

"After he finished riding he went off and became a master saddler and then he turned his hand to carpentry," said Francome. "He could put a cut roof on to a house or make you a spiral staircase and there was nothing he couldn't make or build, and all the while he was excelling at being a glider pilot and went all the way around the world gliding.  

"Steve was extraordinary. He could barely talk at the time of the fundraiser at Newbury but he was there and communicating through an iPad. I drove past his house about three months ago and he was outside cutting his hedge. He was a grafter with a great attitude."   

Jobar, who had no children, is survived by Channing-Williams with funeral details to be announced in due course.

Steve Jobar CV

Full name Robert Steven Jobar

Born Sheffield, March 29, 1949

Father Clifford Jobar (steelworker)

Apprenticed to Alec Kilpatrick, Collingbourne Ducis, Wiltshire 1964-67

First winner Stickler, Fontwell, November 28, 1968

Triumph Hurdle winner Heighlin (1980 at 40-1)

Other big-race wins on Heighlin 1980 HSS Hire Shop Hurdle, 1981 Berkshire Hurdle, 1982 Oteley Hurdle (also runner-up in 1981 Cesarewitch)

Midlands Grand National winner Pacify (1980)

Other notable winners Stickler (10 wins 1968-72, all at Fontwell), Our Edition (1977 Weetabix Chase, Aintree), Combs Ditch (Cheltenham novice hurdle 1981)

Last winner Prosett, Chepstow, March 10, 1984

Highest-rated mount Heighlin (164 in Chasers & Hurdlers 1981/82)

Most wins in a season 20 in 1976-77

Total wins as jump jockey 133 (1968-84)

Compiled by John Randall

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