Haldane, John

1939-2012

Photo courtesy John Griffiths

John Swanson Haldane

Born in Scotland on July 11, 1939, John ‘Swanny’ Haldane - on leaving school - had a brief apprenticeship in a weaver’s at Galashiels before entering racing.

An apprentice with Stewart Wight, he rode his first winner, Clutterbuck, on November 10, 1960 at Carlisle.

His best win as a NH jockey came on Pappageno’s Cottage in the Fred Withington Chase at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day 1964. He also won Ayr’s Joan Mackay Chase twice, on Pappageno’s Cottage (1964) and Woodfella (1969).

He had only one ride in the Grand National, Tudor Fort in 1969 – fell at the third.

One of the weighing room’s real characters, he retired in 1973 and began training point-to-pointers at his livery yard in the Scottish borders. 

He eventually took out a full trainer’s licence. His first runner was Border Knight, who finished unplaced on the Flat at Newcastle on August 30, 1981. When put over hurdles, Border Knight gave him his first training success under NH Rules when winning a division of the Simonburn Novices’ Hurdle on October 28, 1981.

He continued training with sporadic success and eventually returned to training point-to-pointers.

Swanny died in a Kelso nursing home in November, 2012. He was 73.

Article by Chas Hammond