Pat Eddery managed to enjoy success in two different disciplines in the world of flat racing, first as a jockey and then as a trainer. As a jockey he won all of the British Classics at least once, with many of them being won several times. He was so successful that he was named the Champion Jockey on no fewer than 11 occasions.
Riding more than 4,600 winners in British flat racing, he then chose to turn his hand to training, in spite of the fact that he had earlier said that he never would. The training didn’t go quite as well as the riding, but he still managed to train a fair few winners prior to his death from a heart attack in 2015.
About
Can you be destined to take up a career based on how close to something you are born? Probably not, but it wouldn’t have hurt Pat Eddery’s chances of entering the world of horse racing that he was born less than two miles from the Curragh Racecourse in Newbridge, County Kildare. His birth was registered in Dublin, the fifth child of Jimmy and Josephine Eddery. If his place of birth wouldn’t necessarily ensure becoming a jockey, perhaps his parentage would: his father was a jockey who had won the Irish Derby on Panaslipper in 1955 and his mother was the daughter of Jack Moylan, himself a jockey in Ireland.
Eddery’s brother, Paul, also became a jockey, with Pat initially heading off to Patrician Brothers’ Primary School in Newbridge. The family moved to Blackrock, with Eddery’s eduction shifting to Oatlands Primary School in Stillorgan as a result. From a very young age, Eddery dreamed of becoming the Champion Jockey and winning the Derby. It was therefore of little surprise when he became an apprentice jockey for Seamus McGrath in Dublin, enjoying his first ride at the racecourse he was born so close to 15 years before. He came last of seven runners in a rude at the Curragh in the August of 1967, but he had been bitten by the bug.
Pat Eddery’s Major Successes
Pat Eddery’s first success came at Epsom Downs Racecourse as an apprentice to Frenchie Nicholson, having spent the majority of the season riding without a winner.
Alvaro
That was on Alvaro, who gave Eddery six wins in succession during the season in 1969. In the same year, whilst still being an apprentice, he won both the Wokingham Handicap and the Timeform Gold Cup, then a year later picked up the Northumberland Plate before winning the Goodwood Stakes in 1971. That was the year that he won the Champion Apprentice Jockey title, which was something of a sign of things to come for the Irish rider.
Ascot Gold Cup Win
In 1972, before formally leaving his apprenticeship, Eddery won the Ascot Gold Cup after Roc Roi was disqualified. In 1974, he won his first Champion Jockey title, becoming the youngest English flat racing winner since before the Second World War. He left the yard of Peter Walwyn in order to join the Ballydoyle stables, consistently getting work because of his ability and in spite of his unusual riding style. In 1975, he won the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Royal Ascot in an event that became known as the ‘Race of the Century’. Having won the Oaks in 1974, he was establishing a name as one of the finest flat racing jockeys around.
11 Time Champion Jockey
In the years that followed, there was barely a flat race that Eddery didn’t win, nor a country that he didn’t win races in. From the United States of America to Hong Kong, Italy to Slovakia, Eddery repeatedly won not only the British Classics but the foreign versions of the Classic races. Winning the Champion Jockey title 11 times, with eight of them coming in two consecutive batches of four, is not something that many jockeys get to do during their lifetime. In spite of his ability and remarkable success, he was famed for his attitude towards racing, saying, “It’s not Royal Ascot every day”. That is part of how he was so successful.
Wins at the Classics
In terms of the Classics, he won the 1,000 Guineas once, the 2,000 Guineas three times, the Epsom Derby and Epsom Oaks three times apiece and the St Leger Stakes on four occasions. His career was also one of longevity, with his Champion Jockey titles coming in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1996. A career that spanned 20 years at the very top of the sport and saw him win the likes of the Coronation Cup, the Dewhurst Stakes, the Golden Jubilee Stakes and the July Cup. In fact, there was barely a race run at the likes of Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood that Eddery didn’t win during his career.
Famous Horses
If there was a talented horse then there was a very good chance that Eddery was on the back of it at some point during its career. Names such as Golden Fleece, El Gran Señor, Moon Madness, Quest for Fame, and Silver Patriarch all won races thanks to the riding skill of Pat Eddery. He was also employed by the best in the business, moving from Peter Walwyn to Vincent O’Brien, then on to Juddmonte stables as the global rider of choice for the Arab Prince Khalid Abdullah. When he left their employment in 1994, he worked as a freelance jockey until he decided that it was time to retire as a jockey, hanging up his saddle in 2003.
Working as a Trainer
Having retired as a jockey two years earlier, saying that he would never work as a trainer, Eddery was persuaded by his wife, Carolyn, to get his training licence in the July of 2005. He was granted his licence and set about setting up a stable of 40 horses at Musk Hill Stud, near Aylesbury. Paul Eddery, Pat’s brother, became his assistant, whilst Simon Double took on the role of Racing Manager and co-founder of Pat Eddery Racing. That was a racehorse owning syndication company, which gave people the opportunity to own a share in a racecourse when they couldn’t afford to own one outright; a practice that became increasingly popular.
The first horse that Eddery trained and ran was Perez, who came second at Wolverhampton in the December of 2005. The first success that he enjoyed came in a handicap race at Kempton Park Racecourse when Visionist won. Cavort became the first horse that he trained to win on turf, picking up a maiden six furlong event at Goodwood. Arguably his biggest success as a trainer came when Hearts Of Fire won the Italy Group 1 race the Gran Criterium in 2009. He died on the 10th of November 2015, sending runners out until just a few weeks before his death from a heart attack, having suffered a battle with alcoholism for most of his life.