Don Cowley

Donald Henry Cowley served as head lad to John Pickering, who trained a small string of around half a dozen horses at Marlston-cum-Lache, near Chester. He held a National Hunt jockey’s licence for three seasons, 1962/63, 63/64 and 64/65, but had only a handful of rides during that time. 

Weight was evidently an issue because he was unable to ride at under 10st 5lb and thus tended to put up overweight. He rode Pickering’s no-hopers at busy times such as bank holidays when no other jockeys were available – not that they would have been queuing up for the rides. 

Pickering was not afraid to run his horses, a prime example being Eastern Hill, who ran 16 rimes during the 1963/64 season, mostly over fences. After finishing 12th of 13 under Tim Brookshaw in a handicap chase at Cheltenham in October, his next eight form figures read F0FPFF0P – he’d fallen four times, been pulled up twice, and finished last on his two completed starts. 

Switched back to hurdling, Don rode him for the first time when finishing unplaced in the Checkley Selling Handicap Hurdle at Uttoxeter on Easter Monday, 30 March 1964. Next time out, at the same venue on 11 April, they finished 12th of 14 runners. 

Don was reunited with Eastern Hill on both days of Uttoxeter’s Whitsun fixture, falling in the Lichfield Novices’ Handicap Hurdle on Whit Monday, then pulling up in the Draycott Selling Handicap Hurdle the following day. On both occasions Don put up overweight at 10st 5lb. 

He had what appears to have been his final ride on Autumn Time, who fell in division two of the Newport Novices’ Hurdle at Wolverhampton on 16 November 1964. For that race, he had to put up 1lb overweight to ride at 10st 13lb, so it is understandable why his career was such a short one and his opportunities were limited.