Article by Chris Pitt
Michael John Bray was apprenticed to Tommy Shedden at Wetherby and rode a total of 16 winners, the first of which was on Salson in a one-mile Nottingham apprentices’ handicap on July 15, 1971, his only success that season.
He rode three winners in 1972, including two within a week on Tommy Shedden’s three-year-old Privy Case, but doubled that to six in 1973, including a couple of ‘outside’ winners for Eric Collingwood and Tommy Fairhurst, and victory on Shedden’s two-year-old filly Kayandjay in the Bradgate Park Nursery at Doncaster’s St Leger Meeting. At Beverley on September 26 he rode a double on two of Shedden’s horses, Priddy Nice in a division of the juvenile fillies’ maiden and Melody Lady (right) in a one-mile handicap.
Ripon trainer Steve Nesbit supplied Michael with both of his winners for 1974, two-year-old filly Ma’s Baby at Ripon and Clear Melody, owned by advertising hoardings magnate Arthur Maiden, in a Redcar seller. Shedden provided two of Michael’s three winners in 1975, the other being for Fairhurst on Shady Desire in a Lanark nursery.
He joined Jimmy Etherington’s Malton stable the following year and rode one winner for him. It was on Derby Day, Wednesday, June 2, 1976, just over an hour before Lester Piggott steered French-trained Empery to classic glory at Epsom, that Michael Bray guided the two-year-old Luke Splendid to victory in Deverell Stakes at Ripon to land what would be the final victory of his career. He was still able to claim his 5lb allowance that day but he completed his apprenticeship soon after and had to compete on level terms with senior jockeys for the remainder of the season. He rode for one more year in 1977 but had no further winners.
Michael Bray’s winners were, in chronological order:
1. Salson, Nottingham, July 15, 1971
2. Privy Case, Catterick, June 9, 1972
3. Privy Case, Beverley, June 15, 1972
4. Milton Abbey, York, October 4, 1972
5. Crigg, Hamilton Park, May 19, 1973
6. Go Too, Edinburgh, June 11, 1973
7. Red Desire, Ripon, August 28, 1973
8. Kayandjay, Doncaster, September 13, 1973
9. Priddy Nice, Beverley, September 26, 1973
10. Melody Lady, Beverley, September 26, 1973
11. Ma’s Baby, Ripon, May 22, 1974
12. Clear Melody, Redcar, June 22, 1974
13. Boy Marvel, Thirsk, May 16, 1975
14. Handycuff, Redcar, August 9, 1975
15. Shady Desire, Lanark, October 7, 1975
16. Luke Splendid, Ripon, June 2, 1976
