Feature The Horses Who Made Me
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'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

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Racing Writer of the Year
Richard Dunwoody: "If he invited me on one of his extreme expeditions I'd bite his hand off to go"
Richard Dunwoody: became one of those jockeys lucky enough to have ridden races on a long list of popular horsesCredit: Edward Whitaker

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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