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Photo & article courtesy Chris Pitt
Gordon Holmes was born in Boston, Lincolnshire, om March 11, 1947. His father ran a livery yard and Gordon learned to ride from the age of six.
Gordon Spent two years with Tadcaster trainer Charlie Hall and three
years with Sam Hall as an apprentice. He rode his first winner for Sam Hall on Fleet River (left) at Stockton on August 13, 1965. That was one of just three winners on the Flat, the last being Sam Hall's Master Barry in the 1965 Liverpool Autumn Cup.Aged 19, he joined Ryan Price and gained his first success under National Hunt Rules on Price's Burlington ll at Stratford on February 4, 1967.
His biggest wins over fences came on the Brian Lunness-trained Even Dawn (right) in the Geoffrey Gilbey Memorial Chase at Newbury and the Bass Special Chase at Ayr, both in
1977, and on Manton Castle (left) in the inaugural running of Wetherby's Charlie Hall Chase in 1980. Officially titled the Charlie Hall Memorial Wetherby Pattern Chase that year, Manton Castle beat future Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Bregawn by three-quarters of a length. Appropriately, Manton Castle's trainer Maurice Camacho was based at Tadcaster, the same village in which Charlie Hall himself had trained.
He had four rides in the Grand National, although none completed the course. They were Mixed French (1968, fell), Zara's Grove (1971, fell), Foresail (1977, refused) & That's it (1983, fell).
When he retired from riding, Gordon managed racing syndicates. He also learned how to fly a plane and still holds a pilot's licence. He now lives in Newton upon Rawcliffe, near Pickering, North Yorkshire. His hobby id hang-gliding.
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