'The only people glad to see the back of him are the bookies' - the proud Yorkshireman who achieved his Nunthorpe dream
David Sharp was a successful businessman and a Group 1-winning owner, but most of all he was a proud Yorkshireman.
As such, it was only fitting that Sharp, who died on August 17 at the age of 86, enjoyed his finest moment in racing when Coastal Bluff dead-heated with Ya Malak in the 1997 Nunthorpe Stakes at York's Ebor meeting.
To this day, the gigantic grey getting up to grab a share of the spoils remains one of racing's most remarkable feats, because for four and a bit of the five furlongs jockey Kevin Darley had no reins or bit to control his partner after they broke, and was reduced to grabbing the horse's mane to ride him.
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Published on inRacing Lives
Last updated
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- 'He was a typical old-fashioned steeplechase jockey - if the horse was good enough, he was'
- 'He loved racing - it was his world' - remembering John Spouse following his death at the age of 72
- 'He gave himself to racing and you always felt all the better for meeting him' - remembering Sir Thomas Pilkington
- Remembering Ben Cecil, Grade 1-winning trainer and nephew of Sir Henry
- 'He was so determined he was going to have horses and he made it happen' - Thomas Morton, who has died aged 80