Swinburn, Wally snr.

Serving his apprenticeship in England with Sam Armstrong, Walter Robert Swinburn, born on January 11, 1937, rode his first winner at Warwick on Metalon, May 4th, 1953.

He was one of a select group of jockeys who have ridden full-time in Ireland, England and France.

Wally had a two-season spell with P J Prendergast (1958-1959) but struck up a successful partnership with Dermot Weld which saw him becoming the first jockey to win 100 races in an Irish Flat season (his final tally of 101 beat Johnny Roe's record of 87) in 1977. That was his second jockeys' title following his first the previous year.

He rode three Irish Classic winners; two 1,000 Guineas (Pidget 1972 and Princes Polly 1982) and an Irish Oaks (Blue Wind 1981). He was as also associated with another useful filly in Sookera, who won the

Cheverley Park Stakes in 1977.

Wally's first important success in England was By Thunder! in the Ebor. He won the Yorkshire the following year on the same colt.

He was associated with the Sussex Stakes winner, Romulus.

Photo, right, courtesy of John Griffiths

His six winners at Royal Ascot were Martial (1958 Coventry Stakes), Sookera (1977 Chesham Stakes), Nanticious (1977 Ribblesdale Stakes), Sweet Mint (1978 Cork & Orrery Stakes), Sutton Place (1978 Coronation Stakes) and Day Is Done (1981 Norfolk Stakes).

Numerically, his best season in England was in 1961 with 39 winners

Wally was a well-known and popular figure in India during the winter months where he rode a record number of Classic winners.

Wally retired in 1982 and, after spending a year as assistant to Dermot Weld. bought the 125-acre Genesis Green Stud in Newmarket in 1984.

His height was 5ft 7ins.

Son Walter, who retired in April 2000, won every British and Irish Classic bar the Irish & the English St Legers, and was noted as a consummate big-race jockey.

(above) By Thunder!