Article by Chris Pitt
Ginger-haired Derek Byrne was born in Ireland on March 10, 1966. Like many a tyro jockey before and since, he learned to race-ride on the pony circuit back home in Navan. He then became apprenticed to Liam Browne and rode 13 winners on the Flat before becoming too heavy and moving to Britain to start a new career riding over jumps.
He rode nine winners from 48 rides in 1987/88, but his winning tally shot up to 44 wins from 144 rides the following season.
In terms of big race victories, by far his most successful year was in 1990. It began well when winning Ascot’s Victor Chandler Chase on Jimmy FitzGerald’s Meikleour on January 13. He went on to register three more major triumphs in little over a month, landing the Scottish Grand National on Four Trix for Gordon W Richards, along with Aintree’s Glenlivet Anniversary (4yo) Hurdle and Haydock’s Swinton Insurance Hurdle on Jimmy FitzGerald’s Sybillin.
Derek had his fair share of success throughout the 1990s, riding 35 winners in 1990/91 and 27 in 1996/97, but generally averaging around 15 to 18 per season. There were no further big race victories. He retired in 2001, having ridden a total of 233 winners.
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