Victor St John Soane was born in Gloucestershire on July 21, 1949, and became apprenticed to Fred Winter.His first winner was Mr Phoenix at Towcester in April, 1968.
His biggest win came in the 1973 Mildmay Memorial Chase on Midnight Fury.
Victor, whose father worked for the Ministry of Agriculture, started riding at the age of 13: he eventually retired in 1977 and became a trainer.
He rode a total of 83 winners.