John Casey

In a career spanning 19 years, National Hunt jockey John Casey rode just 28 winners. Five of those 28 were recorded at a two-day meeting at Torquay in 1920. 

John finished fifth on his first ride over jumps on Sunstroke II in the Harrington Handicap Hurdle at Southwell on October 16, 1905. Within two months he had ridden his first winner, guiding Stolen Jewel to victory in the Three-Year-Old Selling Hurdle at Nottingham on December 12, 1905. 

He rode seven winners the following year and looked to be on his way to a bright future but managed only five more wins before World War One intervened. 

He resumed his career after the war ended and recorded a career-best score of eight in 1920. The undoubted highlight was the two-day Easter fixture at Torquay. On Easter Monday, April 5, John won a match race for the West of England Chase on Jeffries and then finished alone in another match for the Handicap Chase on Rough And Ready after his sole rival had fallen.

On the second day of the meeting, John won two more match races: the Optional Selling Chase on Rough And Ready and the Torbay & South Devon Handicap Chase on Jeffries, then registered a hat-trick by riding Simon The Cellarer to defeat three opponents in the Maidencombe Selling Handicap Hurdle. That resulted in five winning rides over the two days in which he faced a total of just seven rivals. 

John rode his last winner on Moonlit in the Farmers’ Hurdle at Chelmsford on April 8, 1924. Moonlit was also his final ride when finishing unplaced in the Teignbridge Selling Handicap Chase at Newton Abbot on August 5, 1924.