Malachy Bennett
National Hunt jockey Patrick Malachy Bennett – who rode under his second christian name – was active for 10 seasons from 1957/58 but only managed two winners, five and a half years apart.
His first success came on the biggest of all stages, Cheltenham, on October 14, 1959 when Accordeon II, trained by former champion jump jockey Bryan Marshall, won the Hawling Four-Year-Old Hurdle by a length. Mick Rees had ridden the horse when he had won his previous race at Newton Abbot in September.
On Friday, November 13, 1964, Malachy came within four lengths of another Cheltenham success in the Southam Handicap Hurdle, when his mount Welsh Bard, having led early, came again in the closing stages but failed to pin back Gusto, the mount of Tommy Jennings.
That Cheltenham race was confined to professional jockeys who had not ridden 14 winners, which explains why the third-placed horse, the grey Piranha, came to be ridden by Trevor Pink rather than his regular pilot Tony Pipe, who had already ridden 15 winners by then, nine of them on Piranha. Tragically, Trevor Pink was to lose his life in a fall at Taunton just three months later.
It was not until Easter Monday, April 19, 1965 that Malachy doubled his career score when Medway Hope, trained by another former jockey, Matt Feakes, was a half-length winner of the Brampton Hurdle at Huntingdon, beating Fire Gift, the mount of Vic Lay.
That Huntingdon Easter Monday victory was one of just 13 rides Malachy had during that 1964/65 campaign. He continued for a couple more years but did not renew his licence afte1966/67season.
Gusto (Tommy Jennings) takes the last flight on his way to winning the Southam Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham on 14 November 1964. Welsh Bard (Malachy Bennett), on the extreme right of the picture, finished second. The grey Piranha (Trevor Pink) finished third.
