South-west based National Hunt jockey Martin Ayliffe rode for his father, Cornishman Nick Ayliffe, who trained at Little Ham, near Minehead. Nick was born in Bude in 1934 and got his first taste of racing in point to points as a teenager, following in the footsteps of his father who had ridden over jumps but was killed in battle in Algeria during the Second World War.
Nick joined trainer Gerald Balding, father of Ian and Toby at Bishops Cannings in Wiltshire. He then went on to work with Gerald Winzer and the Devon & Somerset Staghounds in Exford before moving on to be head lad for permit trainer Leslie Scott at Selworthy. After two years there joined the Army with the Household Cavalry.
On leaving the Army Nick re-joined Leslie Scott staying with him for eight years before returning to the Devon & Somerset Staghounds as head stud groom for a further eight-year stint.
Nick set up on his own as permit holder in 1974 for two years before taking out a full licence in 1976. He saddled his first winner, Joint Account, at Devon & Exeter, having bought the horse for a mere £600. He then went on to run a creditable fourth in the National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
His son Martin started out as an amateur and rode his first winner on his father’s six-year-old Waltzer in division one, part one of the Mile End Maiden Hurdle at Newton Abbot on Easter Monday, April 11, 1977. He won on him again the following month in the Arthur Council Handicap Hurdle at Taunton.
Martin turned professional at the start of the 1977/78 campaign and scored a third victory on Waltzer, this time in the Tiverton Handicap Hurdle at Devon & Exeter on May 4, 1979.
He rode three winners in the 1978/79 season for three different trainers, these being his father’s novice chaser Button Boy at Worcester on December 13; Nigel Wakley’s handicap hurdler Collars And Cuffs at Taunton on April 26; and Reg Keenor’s selling hurdler Slipknot at Devon & Exeter on May 28.
Martin continued to ride throughout the 1980s, mainly on his father’s horses at the west-country tracks. He rode his last winner on his father’s Midsummer Walk, back down from 66-1 to 16-1, in a Hereford selling hurdle on November 8, 1988.
He had his final ride on the mare Sara Lane, also trained by his farther, at Devon & Exeter on New Year’s Day 1990. He subsequently joined Martin Pipe’s training operation, where he has been an important member of the Pond House team, firstly for Martin and now for David Pipe, for many years.
Nick Ayliffe continued to train at Little Ham and enjoyed success with the likes of Tudor Waltz and Routing. He had what was to be his last winner when 33-1 shot Dalrymple obliged at Huntingdon priced on November 23, 2013. He saddled his last runner, Midnight Hop, at Exeter on December 17, 2015. He died in January 2017, aged 82.
