Gerald Patrick Kelly was born on September 16, 1931, the son of a Dublin bookmaker. He was barely fourteen when he made the journey to England in response to an advert in the Irish Independent seeking stable staff as so many of the British lads where still in the army, even though the war had recently finished. He began a five-year apprenticeship at 10 shillings a week with The Tetrarch’s trainer Atty Persse on October 31, 1945, initially based at Chattis Hill, near Stockbridge, and then at Upper Lambourn.

At the end of his apprenticeship in 1950 he went back to Ireland, working for, among others, the legendary trainers Paddy Prendergast and Vincent O’Brien. During his time with O’Brien he rode work on triple Gold Cup winning champion Cottage Rake. He also appeared in armour as an extra in the film ‘Knights of the Round Table’ starring Robert Taylor and Ava Gardner, filmed at Phoenix Park.

Gerry returned to England in 1953, heading to Yorkshire this time and joining Jack Ormston’s Richmond stable. He had his first British ride over hurdles on Ormston’s five-year-old gelding Felias at Catterick on November 7, finishing sixth. The partnership was sixth again at Doncaster thirteen days later but then came good at Manchester on December 5, when Felias became Gerry’ first winner. He doubled his score when Shareholder gave him the second career winner at Sedgefield on Boxing Day.

He rode three winners in the 1954/55 season, all on Ormston’s hurdler Game Gambler, at Carlisle, Catterick and Doncaster. He achieved what was to be his best score of seven winners in 1955/56 but thereafter the numbers steadily dwindled: three in 1956/57, including his first win over fences on his old ally Felias at Wetherby; two in 1957/58; and just one, Heckley at Manchester, in 1958/59.

Seeking further opportunities, Gerry ventured south the following season and made a good start, riding six winners during a four month period between February and June 1960, all on horses trained at Letcombe Regis by Captain W. K. McMullen and owned by his wife Eleanor. Four of these came courtesy of Hampden Roar, who won handicap chases at Windsor, Hereford, Stratford and Wincanton, the latter being a dead-heat.

Gerry rode McMullen’s Carrhill to win a Birmingham selling chase in November 1960 but that turned out to be his only winner that season. He joined Ted Goddard’s stable at West Horsley, Surrey the following year and scored his sole victory of the 1961/62 campaign on Goddard’s novice hurdler Chantersleur at Plumpton on Easter Monday 1962.

Gerry got off to a good start to the next season, scoring on the Goddard-trained Black Sumatra at Folkestone on September 17, 1962, but that was to be the last winner he rode not just for the remainder of the season but for the next six and a half years.

He suffered the only bad fall of his career when breaking three vertebrae in his back in 1964, when based with Ryan Price, but the winners refused to come. It wasn’t until May 7, 1969, by which time he was back riding in the north, that Parkinson Minor, trained by Joe Mulhall at York, broke the drought by winning a Wetherby novice chase. Within a fortnight he rode Parkinson Minor to win a similar contest at Market Rasen.

Gerry rode just one winner in each of the 1969/70, 71/72 and 72/73 campaigns (none at all in 70/71), the last of these coming at Warwick on September 16, 1972 aboard Mr Tipp, trained by the then Lady Ann Fitzalan-Howard, later to become Lady Herries. But if you think six and a half years was a long time between winners, how about eleven years!

After a winless period last more than a decade, the David Chapman-trained Bluebirdino finally gave Gerry the winner he craved – and an early Christmas present – when making all to win the Glasgow Paddocks Selling Hurdle at Doncaster on December 17, 1983. Going to the last, Bluebirdino was just in front and was being strongly challenged by a whole wave of horses, but with everyone willing the great GP Kelly home, Bluebirdino rose to the occasion to hold on by two lengths. His fellow riders rushed out of the weighing room to congratulate him as if he had won the Grand National.

Chapman, whose yard was at Stillington, Yorkshire, had not been overly optimistic about Bluebirdino’s chances, especially when he saw him pulling his way to the front before the first. He remarked afterwards: “When they came past the stands, Bluebirdino was pulling so hard I thought it was ‘cheerio Gerry’ and I’d have to pick him up somewhere in Bawtry!”

Said Gerry: “This might do me a bit of good. I felt the tide couldn’t go out for ever. That it must turn some time and it has.”

Bluebirdino’s victory came 30 years to the month since his first success on Felias at Manchester for Jack Ormston. As the Sporting Life’s James Lambie wrote in his report of the day’s racing: “The rest of the afternoon was an anti-climax in comparison.”

By then Gerry was running a successful livery yard where he broke in and schooled young horses for several leading Yorkshire trainers including Michael Dickinson – for whom Delius and Brunton Park were among the best he handled – and Mick Easterby. He also trained point-to-pointers.

Having not ridden on the Flat since 1968, he had wasted hard – surviving mainly on a diet of fish, porridge and dry toast – to get his weight down to ride on the level in 1983. He had a few rides that year and the next, mostly on long-shot no-hopers.

By the time the 1985 Flat season came round he was 54 and yet to ride a Flat winner, but that all changed when he finally got on one with a live chance, David Chapman’s Always Native, the 4/1 favourite in a seven furlong seller at Ayr on July 13, 1985. Always Native was a horse with no brakes who used to bolt on the way to the start but Gerry succeeded in relaxing him going to post, then produced him to lead inside the last two furlongs and win by a length and a half.