'It took us a while to get it right - and if it had been any other trainer, or nowadays, I'd have been replaced'
Chris Cook talks to legendary jockey Richard Dunwoody about the key horses in his career
Arguably, four horses made Richard Dunwoody: Spinning Saint, Pucka Fella, Toy Track and Three Chances. In early March 1984, when he was an amateur rider claiming 7lb, he rode them all to win on the same Saturday afternoon at Hereford.
As often happens, one jockey's good luck flowed from another's misfortune. Hywel Davies was out of action, having got buried in a shocking fall at Doncaster the previous weekend, which meant the famously pessimistic trainer Captain Tim Forster was heavily reliant on the 20-year-old Dunwoody.
Forster had three runners at Hereford that day and sent Dunwoody with them. Both men were slightly surprised when the young jockey picked up outside rides in the other four races on the card.
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Published on inThe Horses Who Made Me
Last updated
Copy- ‘No-one knew how good she was - but all the owners and quite a few of my friends did. They absolutely smashed into her’
- 'He was no star, but they don't have to be stars to be a star to somebody. He's my favourite horse and always will be'
- 'I was very much an introvert - but all of a sudden I was riding all over the place and I had to come out of my shell'
- 'I was being laughed at for saying I dreamed of winning Classics - then suddenly we did it and never looked back'
- 'Everyone was asking how I stayed on - it was the fear of another bollocking from The Duke!'
- ‘No-one knew how good she was - but all the owners and quite a few of my friends did. They absolutely smashed into her’
- 'He was no star, but they don't have to be stars to be a star to somebody. He's my favourite horse and always will be'
- 'I was very much an introvert - but all of a sudden I was riding all over the place and I had to come out of my shell'
- 'I was being laughed at for saying I dreamed of winning Classics - then suddenly we did it and never looked back'
- 'Everyone was asking how I stayed on - it was the fear of another bollocking from The Duke!'