The savage winter of 1962/63 will never be forgotten by those who lived through it. Apart from a single meeting at Ayr on January 5 which somehow survived the elements, there was no racing whatsoever in Britain from December 22 until 8 March.
One man who must have particularly grateful for the resumption of racing on Friday, March 8, 1963, at Newbury was Ian Cocks, for it was then and there that he rode his first winner, Burton Tan, trained by the legendary Fulke Walwyn, in the Sneismore Handicap Chase for amateur riders.
Ian Broughton Cocks was born at Bridgewater on January 27, 1942. Having started out as an amateur, he turned professional in 1965 and rode five winners during the 1965/66 campaign, including two on Charles Handel’s chaser Milltown Boy and two for Stroud trainer Jack Gibson on Dawn Cagire and Chinstone.
He enjoyed his best season in 1967/68 with eight winners,
including one on True Knight in the Pirbright Handicap Chase at Sandown on November 11, 1967, beating the almost white The Beeches, who did not help his cause by blundering at the last fence.
He spent much of his riding career based with Fulke Walwyn and reckoned the best horse he rode there was the top-class hurdler Exhibit A. Ian went on to ride 36 winners in all, the last two coming in the 1970/71 campaign on novice chasers Jumper at Taunton on October 7, and Albury Heath at Windsor on November 14, 1970.
After retiring from race riding, Ian spent five years as assistant trainer to Gay Kindersley before taking up a similar role with champion trainer Dick Hern between 1979 and 1985. He then spent ten years as the racecourse representative for Weatherbys before taking up a position with the Jockey Club as clerk of the scales in 1995.
Described as “much respected and universally popular” by all who knew him, Ian died following a heart attack while on duty at Wolverhampton on Friday, November 19, 2004. He was 62.
Ian, who had married on April 2, 1974, had spent the night before his untimely death surrounded by colleagues and friends at the annual BHB Jockey Club field forced dinner.
