Article by Chris Pitt
Norman Edward Mackness was born on September 24, 1940. He became apprenticed to David Hastings, who trained at Seven Barrows, Lambourn, and rode eight winners on the Flat, the first of these being on five-year-old Sacarole at Newbury on April 17, 1959. Sacarole was a useful horse, having won the Queen’s Prize at Kempton’s Easter fixture on his previous start, when partnered by Derek Morris
Norman had five more winners that year and two in 1960. Four of those came courtesy of a Hastings-trained colt named Orthology, who won at Worcester, Salisbury and Bath in 1959 and at Bath again on May 11, 1960.
He took out a National Hunt jockey’s licence at the start of the 1962/63 season and based himself with Roddy Armytage at East Ilsley. He went on to ride a total of 18 winners over jumps until hanging up his boots. It was hardly a stellar career, for only once did he ride more than two winners in a season.
His first victory over jumps was on the grey Pioneer Spirit in a Bangor-on-Dee novices’ hurdle on April 6, 1963. His other winner that season came on Fire Raiser at Wye on May 20. Both of these were trained by Armytage.
He rode two winners in each of the next two seasons, all for Armytage, but none in the following two. He came close to drawing a blank for 1967/68 but finally scored on Nova Light at Taunton in the last week of the season for Newbury-based trainer Jack Power.
In 1969 he began an association with Ken Payne, who was then training in Lambourn, and rode nine winners for him over the next three years, almost all in selling hurdles and invariably well backed. This was in the years immediately before ‘window cleaner’ Payne moved north and acquired his infamous reputation as the ‘selling plate king’. Norman achieved a career best score of four winners in 1971/72. It was then back to single victories in 1972/73 and 73/74.
His final winner was also his highest profile, this being Caille, trained at Upper Lambourn by J. A. T. (John Anthony Thewlis) Johnson in the Joe Coral Handicap Hurdle at Wincanton on Boxing Day 1973.
He continued riding until 1975/76 but had no more winners, ending with a career total of 26, eight on the Flat and 18 over jumps.
He died on January 28, 2013, aged 72.
Norman Mackness’s National Hunt winners were in chronological order.
1. Pioneer Spirit, Bangor-on-Dee, April 6, 1963
2. Fire Raiser, Wye, May 20, 1963
3. Aemilianus, Hereford, October 31, 1963
4. Copper Car, Wincanton, April 23, 1964
5. Laird of Ayr, Wincanton, September 17, 1964
6. Copper Car, Wincanton, January 14, 1965
7. Nova Light, Taunton, June 7, 1968
8. Miss Uplands, Towcester, May 26, 1969
9. Exonerated, Nottingham, September 30, 1969
10. Magicote, Wye, October 6, 1969
11. Anubis, Southwell, October 12, 1970
12. Anubis, Huntingdon, December 1, 1970
13. Payload, Plumpton, August 30, 1971
14. Anubis, Worcester, December 1, 1971
15. King’s Crunch, Sedgefield, February 22, 1972
16. Downy Bird, Ludlow, March 2, 1972
17. New Brighton, Wolverhampton, January 9, 1973
18. Caille, Wincanton, December 26, 1973