Greathurst, Gordon

Gordon Henry Greathurst was born in 1930 and served his apprenticeship with Tom Griffiths at Epsom. He rode a total of 16 winners during his career.Three of those wins came courtesy of Griffiths’ chestnut filly Lady Doxy. Gordon won twice on her in 1948, a Windsor maiden on May 29 and a Chepstow handicap on September 6. She then gave him his first winner of the 1949 season when scoring at Kempton on July 21.

Gordon’s next winner, the Harold Wallington-trained Evergreen at Lewes on August 20, was his tenth in all and resulted in his claim being reduced from 7lb to 5lb. Trabela became his first winner as a 5lb claimer when scoring at Wolverhampton on October 18.

There was to be just one more success on the Flat, the Griffiths-trained Happy Medium in a Windsor nursery on Friday, November 4, 1949.

He took out a National Hunt jockey’s licence at the start of the 1950/51 season and rode Griffith’s small team of hurdlers. He had four winners during that first season, the first being on Happy Medium at Hurst Park, December 1, followed by Florogen, also at Hurst Park, on February 10; then came Greek Brew at Newton Abbot on Easter Monday, March 26; and lastly, Crimson Lake at Stratford on May 26, 1951.

Gordon continued to ride on the Flat and over jumps until 1955 but had few opportunities and failed to land another winner.

He died in 1974, aged just 44.