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Photo courtesy of Iain Nichols
On Monday, November 30, 1992, Chris Brownless - a professional jockey for more than 23 years - lined up at Kelso. His mount was Bluff Knoll; the race was the Mason Organisation Champion Handicap Chase to be run over three & a half miles.
Despite his longevity as a jockey, he had in all that time amassed just 36 winners. Could Bluff Knoll become his 37th?
Chris's luck was in: despite his mount almost putting him on the floor twice and tiring badly, the combination was still in with a chance on the run-in. Picking up his whip, he drove the nine-year-old to a neck success.
It was the biggest victory of his career, promptly soured by the Stewards who handed him a four-day suspension for excessive use of the whip.
It was his third whip ban that year, but he wasn't about to apologize.
'I just did what I had to do to try to win,' he said afterwards. 'If you don't do your job and get beaten, you don't get any rides. It's as simple as that.'
Chris only continued riding for another month; disillusioned and finding rides increasingly difficult to come by, he rode for the last time the following month on Saturday, 23 January.
Aboard Scarlet Embers inn Catterick's Seamer Novice Chase, he finished unplaced behind One For The Pot and bade farewell to racing.
Born on 14 August, 1953, Chris made his jockey debut on 23 April, 1969, when riding Galileo into second place in Ripon's Hackfall Apprentice Stakes.
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