Philip Cheese

Article by Chris Pitt

Welsh-born apprentice Philip ‘Taffy’ Cheese enjoyed one banner season in 1975, riding 15 winners including a historic handicap, but then faded from the scene almost as quickly as he’d arrived.

He served his apprenticeship with Ron Smyth at Epsom and rode his first winner at Smyth’s home track on Sugar Moss on August 27, 1974, beating the Lester Piggott-ridden favourite Soccer by a length. That was Taffy’s only winner of the year but he soon established himself as a leading apprentice in 1975, kicking off with victory in Epsom’s historic Great Metropolitan Handicap on April 22 – part of which in those days was still run over the rolling Epsom Downs – on Ron Smyth’s good dual-purpose performer Flash Imp.

From then on he became hot property as trainers were swift to make use of his 7lb claim, resulting in him riding winners for Ken Ivory, Charlie Dingwall, Albert Davison, Freddie Maxwell, Frank Cundell and Nigel Angus. He rode winners on three consecutive racing days at Goodwood and Epsom over the August Bank Holiday period, the last of which saw his claim cut from 7lb to 5lb. Even then his services were still in demand, with Upper Lambourn trainer Nicky Vigors employing him to land a Goodwood nursery on Proud Felix in September and Ron Smyth providing him with a win on Mythical Lady in a Chepstow handicap in October. He ended the year with a score of 15 winners from 136 rides.

He rode John Sutcliffe’s My Hussar in the 1976 Lincoln Handicap at Doncaster’s opening meeting and there was every reason to believe that the new season would bring further success in the saddle. However, fashions can change quickly in racing and Philip became a forgotten man with just one win – Albert Davison’s Don Philipe in a Wolverhampton seller on May 18 – to show from 41 mounts. There were none at all the year after that.

He joined Nicky Vigors stable and rode one winner for him in 1978, Piercing Note in a Folkestone seller on September 12. The following year saw him based with fellow Welshman Taffy Salaman, for whom he rode two early season winners on Royal Friend, at Warwick on April 6, 1979 and Wolverhampton four days later.

Having finished his apprenticeship that year, he rode for one season as a freelance jockey in 1980 but had no more winners.

Speaking in 1978 after his win on Piercing Note (his 17th and last win), Abergavenny-born Philip, aged 22, said: 'I got too heavy for the Flat but my weight went down again to 7st 11lb when I was out of racing and I joined Nicky at Lambourn.'