Ives, Tony

Tony Alexander Ives was born at Westow, near Malton, on 7 February, 1952.He began his apprenticeship with Arthur Stephenson but later transferred to Snowy Wainwright. His first winner came on Moorcroft at Hamilton on July 18 1970.

Ives was a good, steady jockey, averaging some 50 per season. His best season, numerically came in 1984, with 90 winners.

He became stable jockey to the then unfashionable Reg Hollinshead and, for the yard, rode Remainder Man to two classic placings.

In 1970 he became first jockey for  Bill O'Gorman, who rated Ives 'the most stylish jockey in the country.'

 For O'Gorman, Ives partnered the superfast 2-y-o Brondesbury to win its first six races in 1982. He was also aboard the incredible 2-y-o Provideo who won a record-equalling 16 races in 1984.

Tony Ives' best win and biggest pay cheque by far came when winning the 1985 Arlington Million in Chicago on Teleprompter.

During riding stints in Hong Kong and Macau in the 1990's, Ives fell in love with Asia and, after hanging up his saddle, returned there to become assistant trainer to Australian Geoff Allendoff in Macau.

He thrives on the buzz of the fast-growing casino city.

“The way of life is great and the people are very friendly,” he said in 2012. “Every day is Saturday, it’s a very exciting place and there’s always something new.”

He has neck and shoulder ailments as a reminder of his riding days but they are minor compared with the problems that persuaded him to retire from the saddle at the age of 45.

“I was getting no feeling in both my hands and my right leg, it was just an accumulation of old age and wear and tear. My hands were going cold and I had tingling in my right leg.”

Ives in 2012 was on his second marriage and, with three children from his first, had three more, aged eight, six and four, with his Thai-born wife Jiraporn. The couple bought property in Chiang Rai, in northern Thailand.

What does he miss now? “Only the fish and chip shop,” he says. But that’s never going to be enough to drag him away from his adopted home.

Tony's height was 5ft 2ins. He rode a total of 1.064 winners.

EXACTLY 30 years ago this season a promising young apprentice called Tony Ives opened his career account at Hamilton Park on Moor Court, the first of many winners he was to boot home in Scotland. 

And though he never won a British Classic before his retiral through a back problem in 1996, he went mighty close when Remainder Man was runner-up to Roland Gardens in the 2,000 Guineas and third behind Shirley Heights in the Derby. 

Ives, who rode over 2,000 winners worldwide, started out with Snowy Wainwright and Remainder Man's trainer Reg Hollinshead. 

He also enjoyed associations with Bill O'Gorman's record-breaking two-year-old Provideo and the gutsy Bill Watts-trained gelding Tele-prompter, whom I remember winning his three-year-old maiden at Edinburgh in 1983. 

Ives, now assistant trainer to former Panamanian jockey Jose Corrales in Macau, said: "Teleprompter's 1985 Arling-ton Million was the high point for me and to go there and win was incredible. The stands had been burned down and they had replaced them with tents but that only added to the occasion. 

"I also have great memories of Remainder Man, Provideo and other Bill O'Gorman horses such as Superpower, Superlative, Brondesbury and Mummy's Game. "

Ives, 49, also rode for then fledging trainer Lester Piggott and he added: "To have been associated for two years with Lester when he started off was one of my pinnacles. 

He was always my idol and a great help from when I was an apprentice-he remains one of my best friends to this day." 

Being a Yorkshireman, Ives was chuffed to bits when winning York's Magnet Cup three times on Chaumiere (1985-86) and Icona (1989) and his only Classic strike came aboard Ian Balding's Forest Flower in the 1987 Irish 1,000 Guineas. 

He recalled: "The Magnet Cups were extra special as it was unbelieveable to do that in a big race at your local track. The first year was the best as I actually rode a four-timer that afternoon." 

"These days I start at 4.30am and I can finish any time between 8.0 and 11.0am, The I'm back for a couple of hours in the afternoon."

And, although Ives sometimes wishes he could turn the clock back when the major Flat events in the UK come round, he reasoned: "I had a fantastic time and I was very lucky.