Bernard Patrick Dalton, known as Bernie, rode 19 winners over jumps during the first half of the 1990s.
He began as a conditional with Malcolm Jefferson and it was on his Clippers Dream that he had his first victory when the seven-year-old was all out to hold the challenge of Colin Hawkins on Native Scot by a neck in the Wensley Novices’ Hurdle (Division 2) at Catterick on February 21, 1990. The pair had finished second at Sedgefield 12 days earlier and they were to occupy the runner-up spot twice more before the season ended.
It was not until Boxing Day that Bernie next visited the winner’s enclosure, but he did so with a double. One of them was on West Ender, and it was on that horse that he achieved his biggest success when taking the A.F.C. Sunderland Handicap Hurdle at Sedgefield on April 30, 1991.
After five wins in 1990/91 and three in 1991/92, he had just one victory in 1992/93. However, he then linked up with trainer John Wharton who supplied six of his eight winners in 1993/94, including the eight-year-old handicap chaser Spoonhill Wood, on whom he won three times.
Bernie failed to register a win in 1994/95 and only had one more victory, that coming when Annie Kelly, making her seasonal debut, comfortably landed the Sir Peter Crossman Novices’ Handicap Chase at Huntingdon on December 5, 1995. The pair only had one more start together that season, at Market Rasen in March, where they were beaten a long way.
Bernie Dalton’s winners were, in chronological order:
1. Clippers Dream, Catterick Bridge, February 21, 1990
2. Breezy Sailor, Market Rasen, December 26, 1990
3. West Ender, Market Rasen, December 26, 1990
4. Brabiner King, Market Rasen, April 27, 1991
5. West Ender, Sedgefield, April 30, 1991
6. Cavalier Crossett, Stratford-on-Avon, May 31, 1991
7. Saskia’s Hero, Lingfield Park, January 9, 1992
8. Blue Disc, Southwell, January 13, 1992
9. Multihands, Southwell, February 3, 1992
10. Fettle Up, Hereford, May 12, 1993
11. We’re In The Money, Nottingham, December 3, 1993
12. Tristan’s Comet, Southwell, January 5, 1994
13. Tristan’s Comet, Southwell, January 12, 1994
14. Spoonhill Wood, Wetherby, February 5, 1994
15. Spoonhill Wood, Lingfield Park, March 19, 1994
16. Annie Kelly, Nottingham, March 22, 1994
17. Spoonhill Wood, Market Rasen, April 4, 1994
18. Pinisi, Huntingdon, April 27, 1994
19. Annie Kelly, Huntingdon, December 5, 1995