Anthony Charles Biddlecombe was born on November 6, 1938.
He wasthe elder brother of champion jockey Terry.
Like Terry, Tony started out as an amateur rider. He rode his first winner on Golden Elf in the Open Hunters’ Chase at Worcester on March 5, 1956.
He rode a double at Southwell on December 21, 1959, when getting home on both Gainspur and Blue Marlin, giving Norwich-based trainer Rex Carter his first-ever double under National Hunt rules
Tony was champion amateur rider in the 1961/62 season with 30 wins. He turned professional at the start of the 1962/63 campaign and rode for three seasons in the paid ranks, achieving scores of 13, 24 and 28. He was stable jockey to Hawick-based Ken Oliver in the Borders.
Although in the shadow of his brother Terry, Tony was an accomplished jockey himself and rode a total of 129 winners. He was also a skilled show-jumping rider.
He rated the chasers Rock House Bridge and Wingless as the best he rode, winning twice on both of them.
He took part in two Grand Nationals but didn’t get far. April Queen fell at the first in 1961 and Wingless came down at the third in 1963, leaving his rider with a broken shoulder.
Having broken almost every bone in his body during his ten years as a jockey, Tony retired end of 1964/65 season, aged 26. His last winner was B.D.M in a three-mile handicap hurdle at Bangor on April 24, 1965. His final ride was on Dunworkin, who trailed in last of ten finishers in a handicap chase at Nottingham on May 14, 1965.
He turned his attention to farming, taking over the management of the family’s Lower House Farm at Upleadon, near Newent, in Gloucestershire from his farther Walter.
Tony Biddlecombe died of cancer in May 2020 following a short illness. He was 81.
In her book ‘Not Enough Time’, Tony’s sister-in-law Henrietta Knight described how Tony and his wife Sandra helped nurse Terry Biddlecombe back to health when he returned to Britain from Australia in the 1990s.
Following Tony’s death she added: “They always said that he would have been as good a rider if not better than Terry but he stopped early because he took over his father’s farm.”
