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Born in Co. Tipperary, on December 9, 1894, Michael Francis Beary began his racing career as an apprentice to Colonel McCabe in Newmarket, England, but returned to Ireland three months later after he became homesick. Later, he returned to England and spent five years with trainer Atty Persse at Stockbridge. He returned to Ireland in 1914 and tried to join the army, but was rejected.
Returning to England in 1922, he finished third in the winning list of jockeys and, in 1923, rode his first winner of note when winning the Cambridgeshire on Verdict, beating the heavily-backed French horse Epinard.
In 1929 he won the St Leger on Trigo and, in 1930, became first jockey to the Aga Khan. This arrangement came about after bad feeling between previous jockey Charlie Smirke and trainer Richard Dawson caused a termination of Smirke’s contract. The Aga Khan ran two in that year’s Derby, Rustom Pasha and Blenheim. Beary, given the choice of mounts, chose the former and was mortified to see Harry Wragg win on Blenheim.
It was always on the cards that there would be a clash of personalities between Beary, with his cavalier attitude, and Frank Butters, the Aga Khan’s trainer. Butters was a dour, conscientious man with little humour. At the end of the 1933 season, after one clash too many, Beary’s retainer with the Aga Khan was not renewed.
Trainer Frank Butters set out on his bicycle one evening to attend a committee meeting at the Rous Memorial Hospital. He was in collision with a lorry: so severely was he shocked that he never trained again. He died in 1957.
Beary's luck changed in the 1937 Derby, which he won on Mid-day Sun. The colt was trained by
Frederick Butters, brother of Frank, who had been instrumental in the sacking of Beary earlier, so victory for the jockey was especially sweet.He then rode for Sir Malcolm McAlpine for a number of seasons during which time he achieved a personal record when riding 81 winners.
In sprint races, he was known for his ‘exceptional smartness’ out of the gate, winning many races at the start. He was particularly brilliant with two-year-olds.
He was once taken to court, accused of negligence, in which the plaintiff lost his racehorse, Ironore. Riding Golly Eyes, Beary had cut across Ironore, causing the horse to fall and break her neck. The judge returned a verdict for the plaintiff and awarded him 300 guineas damages.
In 1951 Beary began training in Wantage, eventually sending out the 2,000 Guineas winner Ki Ming. However, he enjoyed little patronage and returned briefly to riding, taking a mount in the 1953 Derby. The next year, with little understanding of financial matters, Beary, owing £12,000, was declared bankrupt. He had been bankrupt on two previous occasions, in 1924 and 1936.
On June 3rd, 1954, he relinquished his training licence after his Careless and Gay had run in the last race at Epsom. Beary had been granted a jockey's licence again and intended to ride Victory Roll in the Saturday Derby.
Like Steve Donoghue, he modelled his style on the great Danny Maher. It was Donoghue who really gave him his start. When Beary was apprenticed to Atty Persse he wanted to ride a horse called Hainseby at Bath, but was refused permission to leave the Stockbridge stables by the head lad. Donoghue smuggled him away in the boot of his car, took him to the course, and the young apprentice rode his first winner. He was undoubtedly a superb jockey whose career was blighted by a suspect temperament and volatility which prevented him from reaching the very top of the tree.
Beary died in a London hospital on October 8th 1956. A mass was said for him in the Chapel of Holy Souls, Westminster Cathedral at 11.30 a.m. on Thursday 11th October, attended by his widow, Eve. He was buried at Epsom cemetery.
Classic wins:
The Derby: Mid-day Sun (1937)
The Oaks: Udaipur (1932)
St Leger: Trigo (1929) and Ridge Wood (1949)
Two Thousand Guineas (as trainer): Ki Ming (1951)
Other big wins:
1922: Middle Park Stakes - Drake
1923: Cambridgeshire - Verdict
1023: Chester Cup - Chivalrous
1924: July Cup -Drake
1925: Middle Park Stakes - Lex
1926: Northumberland Plate - Foxlaw
1927: Irish Derby - Knight of the Grail
1928: Middle Park Stakes - Costaki Pasha
1929: Royal Hunt Cup - Caerloptic
1930: Stewards Cup - Le Phare
1930: Cesarewitch - Ut Majeur
1931: Dewhurst Stakes - Firdaussi
1931: Chester Cup - Brown Jack
1932: Middle Park Stakes - Felicitation
1932: Cesarewitch - Nitisichin
1932: Irish Derby - Dastur
1933: Dewhurst Stakes - Mrs Rustom
1937: Ayr Gold Cup - Daytona
1945: Nunthorpe Stakes - Golden Cloud
1947: Portland Handicap - Good View
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