Popular leading lightweight jockey Taffy Thomas dies aged 76

Leading lightweight Flat jockey Myrddin Lloyd 'Taffy' Thomas died on Wednesday in a hospice close to his home in Cheveley near Newmarket at the age of 76.

Born in Caernarvon, North Wales, Thomas registered 878 winners in a career that spanned nearly 30 years and included major triumphs on Absalom in the Vernons (now Haydock Park) Sprint Cup in 1978 and Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes on Sayf El Arab at Royal Ascot in 1983.

Thomas started his career in 1961 when he was apprenticed to Geoffrey Barling in Newmarket and rode his first winner on Weather Way at the now defunct Hurst Park the following year. At the time he finished second to Paul Cook in the apprentice title and was in big demand in handicaps due to his diminutive size.

His first big win came in the Northumberland Plate on Piaco for Barling five years later and he went on to register otrher big-handicap victories in the Cambridgeshire (twice), Stewards' Cup (twice), Cesarewitch and Lincoln. He was also prolific in Group races and went closest to winning a Classic when partnering the Barling-trained Tower Walk to finish second to Right Tack in the 2,000 Guineas in 1969.

After joining Ryan Jarvis in the 1970s, Thomas struck up a good relationship with the classy sprinter Absalom and registered his best tally of 98 winners in 1977.

His last big winner came on Old Hubert for Alan Bailey in the Chester Cup in 1988 and he retired from the saddle two years later. Thomas rode out for Alex Scott and then Ed Dunlop from Gainsborough Stables in Newmarket but hung up his boots in 2006.

His wife Sallie said: “Sadly, Taffy passed away with his family around him this morning. He had been in hospital since early last month with an infection and was recently transferred to a hospice.”

The couple married in 1973 and have twin daughters Amy and Diana. Reflecting on their time together, Sallie said: “It’s been quite an adventure. As Taffy was so small, his father originally wrote to various trainers asking for apprenticeships and he got his first job with Geoffrey Barling at Primrose Cottage Stables, which is where [department store] QD is now on Newmarket High Street.”

She added: “A bit later he was attached to Ryan Jarvis and had a very productive time in the 1970s and was much in demand as a lightweight for all the top trainers.

"He rode a lot of big winners and I particularly remember Tower Walk, Absalom and Sayf El Arab were his big victories. He used to ride abroad in the winter but retired in 1990 after which he rode out for Ed Dunlop until he had to have a knee replacement in 2006. That forced him to quit altogether but he enjoyed plenty of family time after that and still enjoyed his racing.”

Ryan Jarvis’s son, current Newmarket trainer William, paid tribute. He said: “It’s a very sad day as Taffy rode for my father for many years and was a really lovely man. He was a talented lightweight jockey and was a very popular figure in the weighing room where he was the ultimate professional.”