Dobbin, Tony

Ex-Flat race jockey Tony, just turned 18, had ridden his first winner some seven years earlier when successful on Stay Awake (13/2) at Hamilton on May 19, 1990.

Born in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland, on May 1, 1972, the youngest of six children, he and his good friend Adrian Maguire rode as youngsters on the Irish pony circuit, the difference being that Tony, unlike his better known counterpart, did not feature prominently at the all-important annual fixture at Dingle, Co Kerry.

Tony first came to England aged 15, seeking stablework. Hired by Newmarket trainer Neville Callaghan, Tony enjoyed the routine but became desperately homesick and returned home after just four days.

Then Jonjo O'Neil came to Punchestown on a promotional trip and a friend of Tony's tapped Jonjo on the shoulder and told him about the would-be-jockey.

Jonjo agreed to take him on a month's trial

He stayed with Jonjo for five years in which he rode a total of 25 winners.

Tony then made his way up the road to the nearby smaller racing yard of Maurice Barnes to gain further experience. He also knew he would guaranteed rides, unlike at Jonjo's, where riding talent overflowed.

This was the season in which Tony gained his first ever success at the Cheltenham Festival. Riding Dizzy for trainer Peter Monteith, he won the County Handicap Hurdle by a neck.

In October, 1994, Tony signed on as stable jockey for Gordon Richards. Richards had been watching Tony's progress for some time and was a secret admirer. After Tony won on his first ride for the stable, The Demon Barber at Haydock, Richards unhesitatingly offered him the position.

Speaking later of Tony, Gordon Richards said: 'It's not just his style of riding but the way he uses his head. And he has a lovely attitude to life. Not cheeky or big-headed: he won't think he's done it all in two years' time. He's still getting the hang of the big chasers. Many people wondered what I was doing when I gave him the job but I'm not hearing the same thing now.'

Richards provided Tony with the hundredth success of his career: Ninfa, a comfortable 10/1 winner of the Federation Brewery Novices Chase at Hereford on Friday, November 4, 1994.

Aged 22, Tony then proceeded to ride a further three winners at the track, giving him a 233-1 four-timer.

In 1993, the Shropshire businessman John Hales accompanied Gordon Richards to the bloodstock dispersal sale of the late Arthur Stephenson at Crawleas.

Hales, a toy manufacturer, had his heart set on a grey, but was adamant that he would pay no more than £40,000.

Luckily for himself, Hales allowed his heart to rule his head and, with gentle nudges from the Greystoke trainer, he kept bidding until securing the animal for £68,000.

After the enormously impressive victory of One Man - for that was the purchased grey - in the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup, the £68,000 splashed out looked a brilliant investment.

And so it proved.

Meanwhile, Tony was hoping to cap an already fabulous season on General Pershing in the Grand National, but on Monday, April 3, 1995, he sustained damage to his vertebrae in a heavy fall at Kelso and was ruled out of the race. David Bridgwater took the ride.

Tony's season soured further when Hales announced that Richard Dunwoody would be replacing him on One Man in Boxing Day's King George Vl Chase at Kempton. The reason cited was Tony's suspect full fitness, the jockey having returned to the saddle after injury only a week before.

Dunwoody won, and was immediately asked to ride One Man in all its future races in place of Tony.

Tony's run of bad luck continued in 1995: a fall from Domino King at Kelso on March 22 forced him to miss the Grand National again as he nursed an injured shoulder.

He was not to know that his day in the sun was just around the corner.

On Monday, April 7, 1997, Tony climbed aboard Lord Gyllene and made his way to the start for the Grand National (postponed from the previous Saturday because of a bomb scare).

That evening, before the race, Tony's world was in shreds. 

Since winning the Hennessy, nothing had gone his way. He had lost the ride on One Man, and another owner, David Harrison, had began employing his own jockey, Paul Carberry, at Richards's stable. Rumours of Tony's services being dispensed with were rife.

Putting all negative thoughts at the back of his mind, Tony settled down to ride his race and, at last, justice was served.

Lord Gyllene was owned by rags-to-riches owner Stan Clarke who, like John Hales, was a self-made multi-millionaire. Stan was a member of the Jockey Club, he owned Uttoxeter & Newcastle racecourses as well as a string of racehorses.

Stand' father became ill when Stan was just nine, forcing the small boy to go out to earn a living. He became a butcher's boy then, at 15, an apprentice plumber.

(Stan's story is worth a page of its own.)

Tony came crashing down to earth (literally) a fortnight later when breaking a collarbone at Hexham, an injury which caused him to miss yet another National in Scotland. Jamie Osborne replaced him on Major Bell.

In February, 1998, Tony was welcomed back into the fold when Dunwoody was unable, through other committments, unable to ride One Man in Ascot's Comet & Sony Chase. This, surprisingly, was Tony's first ever win on the course.

Then his cursed luck returned,

Riding Direct Route iin the Arkle at Cheltenham, Tony fell, breaking his thumb. The immediate result was the Brian Harding was asked to ride One Man in the Queen Mother. He did so, and won. Harding retained the ride until One Man met his fate at Liverpool.

Gordon Richards died on August 30, 1998.

Back to work in November of that year, Tony took the wrong course on McGregor The Third in Cheltenham's Cross Country race, and was promptly banned for seven days.

He said, after: 'It was something stupid and what was so frustrating was that the first three & a half miles had gone fine and we were on the last corner when I went wrong.'

Tony won the Becher Chase on Feels Like Gold the next year, taking his total of Aintree winners to five.

In early March, 2002, Tony suffered a devastating loss when his brother, Barney, was killed in a road crash.

Tony Dobbin retired from race riding in early April, 2008.