Joe Pidcock

Amateur rider Joseph Coetmore Pidcock was born in Ruddington, Nottingham on February 10, 1910, the son of Joe Walter Pidcock. The Pidcock family had long been located in Nottinghamshire where they had played a prominent role in connection with the corn trade. They were enthusiastic supporters of hunting, point-to-pointing and National Hunt racing, so it was no surprise that Joe started riding out on a pony with the South Notts, Quorn and Earl of Harrington’s Hounds almost as soon as he could walk.

He attended Harrow School, after which he travelled extensively in America, France and Switzerland. He did a certain amount of yachting and flying and a good deal of hunting.

In 1933 he began riding in point-to-points, as had his grandfather and father, both of whom had owned racehorses, having a particular affinity for the jumping game. His first racing colours were ‘cherry, black spots, cherry sleeves and cap’, though these were later changed to ‘straw, black cap’.

Graduating to riding under National Hunt rules, Joe rode his first winner on Starless in the Askrigg Handicap Chase at Catterick on November 17, 1933. He recorded a double, both for Middleham trainer Gerald Armstrong, at Kelso’s United Border Hunt meeting on February 17, 1934 on Ruddington in the Morebattle Handicap Hurdle and Kaffir III in the Jed Forest Chase. He followed up on Ruddington over fences at Manchester six days later.

He also won a pair of selling chases that year on Revesby, at Rugby Hunt in March and at Derby in December. In fact, he would have ridden two more winners that year but for being disqualified twice in successive months on three-year-old hurdler Dunaskin, for crossing at the last hurdle and bumping at Fontwell in October and for boring and crossing at Chelmsford in November. Perhaps seeking a change of luck, he renamed Dunaskin as Distant Horizon.

Joe won on both Ruddington and Revesby in January 1935, landing a Derby handicap hurdle on Ruddington and Leicester selling chase on Revesby. He rode Ruddington to victory in the three-mile Stayers’ Handicap Hurdle at Bungay in April.

The renaming of Dunaskin as Distant Horizon had the desired change of fortune, for Joe rode him to an optional selling hurdle at Pershore and an amateur riders’ handicap hurdle at Market Rasen in May 1935.

During the Second World War, he served in the Royal Army Service Corps, attaining the rank of Major. He was awarded the Italy Star.

Having enjoyed the majority of his success in the saddle during the mid-1930s and despite not being seen in races for the better part of 30 years, Major Joe Pidcock, by then in his mid-50s and claiming 3lb, returned to action in the 1964/65 season, riding a novice hurdler named Master Cagire, trained by Wilfrid Lyde, in four races, his best performance being when finishing fifth in the Border Counties Hunts Challenge Cup Amateur Riders’ Hurdle at Carlisle on Easter Monday 1965.

He rode Master Cagire in four more races during the 1965/66 campaign, including when finishing ninth in the Spa Hurdle (now the Stayers’ Hurdle) at the Cheltenham National Hunt meeting. Switched to fences the following season and now trained by Alec Kilpatrick, Major Pidcock rode Master Cagire in all 12 starts, making the frame on six occasions including two second-place finishes at Kempton, notably in the Galloway Braes Novices’ Chase. They took their chance in that year’s National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham but were among the fallers.

Major Pidcock and Master Cagire competed in 14 novice chases during the 1967/68 season, finishing third three rimes but pulling up in their second attempt at the National Hunt Chase. Following two disappointing early season efforts in August 1968, Master Cagire was retired and that looked to be the end of Major Pidcock’s comeback to the saddle. Not a bit of it.

He moved to Ireland and settled in Cahir, Co. Tipperary. There he purchased far and away the best horse he would ever own or ride, acquiring one named Captain Christy from Tom Nicholson, who had purchased the horse for just 290 Irish guineas as a foal.

By then in his early 60s, Major Pidcock rode Captain Christy on his racecourse debut on the first day of Limerick’s 1971 Christmas meeting but the horse was one of five who ran out. Undaunted, just five days later, on New Year’s Day 1972, he partnered Captain Christy to win division one of the Sutton Maiden Hurdle at Baldoyle. This was clearly an above average horse. Major Pidcock came third on him in the valuable Scalp Hurdle at Leopardstown in February, then finished sixth in the Lloyds Bank Hurdle (now the Stayers’ Hurdle) at Cheltenham.

When the big money offers arrived that summer, Major Pidcock sold Captain Christy to Mrs Jane Samuel. Bobby Beasley, recently returned to race riding following his problems with alcohol addiction, duly took over in the saddle. The rest of the story, as they say, is history, with Captain Christy going on to land the 1974 Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Major Joe Pidcock died on June 7 1980, aged 70.