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How is it possible for a jockey who rode three Irish Derby winners to finish up living in a tent in the woods near Farnham in Winchester?
This was the fate which befell former champion Irish jockey Jimmy Mullane.
Together with his wife, Anne, he had been living in a caravan in the grounds of a convent when, in 1985, a new order of nuns arrived at the convent. Immediately, they got a summons to remove Jimmy and his trailer: the police towed it away but, having nowhere to put them, left the caravan in a lay-by beside a road.
With no transport of their own to move it, Jimmy and Anne were stuck, so they decided to build themselves a home in the woods. One day the local authority turned up and removed the caravan, impounding it as an abandoned vehicle.
The caravan was then destroyed. Jimmy said later: 'They took away my home.They destroyed everything I owned in the world. All my trophies and prized possessions were in that van.'
Then Jimmy suffered an even more crippling loss - Anne, his beloved wife of 45 years, died that February of a stroke.
Jimmy said: 'I can't believe she's gone. I miss her. It's very lonely without her.'
Pior to her death, Winchester Council offered them several council houses. Jimmy refused to move saying he would only take up the council's offer once they had compensated him for his belongings lost with the caravan.
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Yet it had all started so well.
Jimmy had shared the Irish apprentice title with Pat (Mutt) Conlon in 1950 when each had ridden 17 winners.
Then, the following season, riding for Paddy Prendergast, he won the National Produce Stakes on Blue Butterfly and the famous '1500' at Phoenix Park on one of the fastest colts ever, the brilliant Windy City. Later that year, Windy City won the Gimcrack by 8 lengths with Gordon Richards in the saddle.
Jimmy ended the season as Champion Flat jockey with 43 wins.
Jimmy peaked in 1952, his 'annus mirabilis'. He captured Ireland's two most valuable races - the Irish Derby on Thirteen of Diamonds and the Irish Oaks on Five Spots, both for trainer Paddy Prendergast - before going on to retain the jockeys' championship with 54 wins.
He won a third Classic when landing the 1954 Irish 2,000 Guineas on Artcic Wind for Mick Rogers.
Jimmy continued to ride big race winners throughout the fifties until a rapid decline in his fortunes left him scraping for a living in Britain.
Jimmy Mullane, born in 1935, was a softly spoken person who rarely spoke about the past. Had he done so, he could have mentioned the following races.
1951: Anglesey Stakes (Stacallen Bridge), National Produce Stakes (Blue Butterfly) & the Phoenix Park Stakes (Windy City).
1952: Irish Derby (Thirteen of Diamonds), Irish Oaks (Five Spots), Phoenix Park Stakes (Royal Duchy) and the Blandford Stakes (Thirteen of Diamonds).
1954: Irish 2,000 Guineas (Arctic Wind) and the Greenland Stakes (Standing Holly).
1956: Phoenix Park Stakes (Refined).
1958: The Gallinule Stakes (Clear Round).
1959: Irish Lincoln (Anthony).
Jimmy last rode in England on Saturday November 7, 1970, when partnering Golden Bleep in a two mile hurdle race at Worcester.
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