Dukes, Colin

Northern-based jumps jockey Colin Dukes was born in Tadcaster, in Yorkshire, on April 23, 1933. He was apprenticed to a Tadcaster trainer, Charlie Hall, and rode his first winner for him on Lawless Bridget at Market Rasen on September 23, 1950. He completed a quick-fire hat-trick on Lawless Bridget, winning on her at Southwell on October 9 and Catterick nine days later.Lawless Bridget provided Colin with two more victories the following October, winning handicap hurdles at Newcastle at Wetherby. Novice chaser Pearl Oyster was another dual scorer with wins at Newcastle in February and Market Rasen in March. This pair formed part of a banner season for Colin who rode 15 winners from just 72 rides. Having accumulated six winners in his inaugural season, his total already stood at 21 and he was beginning to get noticed.

The following season, 1952/53, started well enough with wins on Charlie Hall’s juvenile hurdler Fashion at Southwell in October and selling hurdler Osborne Lad at Market Rasen’s Christmas meeting, but a bad fall from Pearl Oyster at the third last fence when holding every chance at Catterick on the last day of February 1953 put Colin on the sidelines for a considerable period.

He eventually came back and continued to ride for Charlie Hall. In 1957 he partnered Herald Of The Dawn for him in Wetherby’s Grand National Trial (pulled up) and in the Topham Trophy over the Grand National fences (fell), but he did not ride his next winner until Cultra obliged in the Mother Goose Novices’ Hurdle at Catterick on January 1, 1959, Colin’s first winner for just over six years.

He failed to ride another winner in either of the next two seasons, managed one in 1961/62, and then endured another two blank campaigns. He rode two winners from just 13 rides in 1964/65, both on a juvenile hurdler named Victor, trained by Mick Easterby, at Southwell on December 12, 1964 and at Catterick on January 2, 1965.

He rode for one more season before relinquishing his licence in 1966. Later that year he set up as a trainer at Sunny Bank Farm, Acklam, near Malton. He never had more than eight horses in his yard but managed a few winners, including Camasco, who won a Wetherby selling hurdle on Easter Monday 1969 with Jack Berry in the saddle.

He gave up training in 1970 but returned in 1975 with a permit and a couple of horses he owned himself. It was only a brief resumption that lasted a couple of seasons with no winners to show for it.

Colin Dukes died on April 24, 2012 aged 79.