Dave Dick

David Victor Dick was born at Epsom on 8 March 1924.

He was a lifelong friend of champion jockey Fred Winter: indeed, it was Dave Dick who, as a child, gave the two years younger Winter his first ever pony, called Snowball.

Dave was the son of an Epsom-based trainer (also called Dave); his mother was Alice Isabel Dick (nee Ivall).

He sat next to Fred Winter at school. 'Neither of us was very bright,' he admitted later, 'but I was worse. They threw me out when I was twelve!'

So close were the two friends that they would holiday together. The holidays always involved sunshine, water-skiing and women.

Dave recalled; ' As soon as the season ended, we'd go. I had a big Allard two-seater in those days and it was perfect for holidaying in the sun. The girls loved it!'

They took their holidays in Juan Les Pins in a pension called La Marjelane. They patronised the coastal bars, Dave drinking whisky, Fred on gin and tonic.

In 1969 he married Caroline Lockhart. She gave him one son and one daughter.

Generally agreed to have been one of the greatest jockeys never to have been champion, his swashbuckling style and colourful character ensured that he stood out in the National Hunt scene of the 1950s, an era now revered as a golden age of steeplechase riders.

At six feet tall, he was too big in theory to be a jump jockey, yet he won numerous big races including the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Mont Tremblant (technically a novice, having never won over fences before that season) and the Grand National on ESB in 1956 when the Queen Mother's horse, Devon Loch, fell yards from the post when in the lead.

When later asked by the Queen Mother how he felt when her horse fell he replied 'absolutely delighted!'

Grand National week always involved a stay at the Adelphi Hotel. Still an enthusiastic bachelor, he would book two rooms in case he got lucky. He was once in the process of being booked by a female traffic warden in the city when he asked her to attend the Grand National party at the Adelphi. She promptly tore up the ticket and turned up at the party.

In November 1952, Dave was seriously injured at Cheltenham when, partnering Prince of Denmark for Dorothy Paget, he was forced into the running rail, agonisingly trapping his ankle. The rails were then sharp and metallic. He was ruled out for the season and promptly sued the Cheltenham course for damages. He was awarded £5,000.

Dave said of Dorothy Paget, 'She was a very kind and misunderstood woman. I enjoyed riding for her and she always treated me well.'

She once sent a Bentley packed with food from Fortnum & Mason to Dave's cottage in Upper Lambourn and arrived shortly afterwards in her own Bentley.

She saw Dave's new pride and joy, a green XJ120 Jaguar, which he had always coveted, she told him green was unlucky and if he kept the car he would never ride for her again.

Apprenticed to his father, Dave rode his first winner, Carton, Brighton in September 1938. He weighed just six stone 5 pounds.

His first big race win came in 1941 when he steered Gloaming to victory in the Lincolnshire Handicap. His burgeoning weight and size then put paid to all thoughts of a flat career, but he was snapped up by Fulke Walwyn in 1951 and retained to ride the horses of Dorothy Paget.

He also became associated with the brilliant Pas Seul and, in 1965, Dunkirk, one of the greatest two-mile specialists in racing history and on which he won the Two-Mile Champion Chase.

Dave's National Hunt career total was just 348, but that total included an unusually high quota of the bigger prizes. He remained on top of the tree for 15 years until his retirement in 1966.

Dave Dick died at Ashampstead, Berkshire, on 15 February 2001, aged 76.

His memorial service took place at St Nicolas Church, Newbury on April 10, 2001, and was attended by Fred Winter, David Mould, Terry Biddlecombe, Bill Smith, Joe Mercer and Jimmy Lindley.

In the address, former trainer Peter Walwyn said that wherever Dick went, he created an immediate aura of fun and friendship.

"Everybody loved him - royalty, every girl he met, all the stable staff too," said Walwyn, adding: "Whenever Dave entered the room, the place lit up."

Another story involved a holiday in Majorca with Josh Gifford and other colleagues.

"Josh said it was quite a smart place and advised Dave to bring a dinner suit," explained Walwyn. "But Dave said all that he would need was a stick to knock the birds off the side of the boat."

Others present included Barry Hills, Nicky Henderson, Ian Balding, Lord Oaksey, Cath Walwyn, Tom Jones, Henrietta Knight, Doug Marks, Elain Mellor, Jim Wilson, Charlie Toller, Sir Piers Bengough and Fulke Johnson Houghton.

Dave Dick

Grand National winner: E.S.B. (1956)

Cheltenham Gold Cup winner: Mont Tremblant (1952)

Other big winners:

1941: Lincolnshire Handicap – Gloaming

1955: Mildmay of Flete Challenge Cup Chase – Mont Tremblant

1957: Gloucestershire Hurdle (Div 1) – Tokoroa

1957: Cathcart Challenge Cup Chase – Rose’s Quarter

1958: Liverpool Handicap Hurdle – Tokoroa

1959: National Hunt Handicap Chase – Winning Coin

1961: Whitbread Gold Cup – Pas Seul

1961: Rhymney Breweries Handicap Chase – Pas Seul

1962: Two-Mile Champion Chase – Piperton

1964: Gloucestershire Hurdle (Div 2) – Elan

1965: Two-Mile Champion Chase – Dunkirk

1965: Spa Hurdle – Antiar