Article by Chris Pitt
Martin Coyle was born in Armagh, Northern Ireland, on September 2, 1955. He served his apprenticeship initially with Archie Watson and then with Michael Cunningham, for whom he rode his first winner on High Fly in a novice riders’ handicap hurdle at Dundalk on November 8, 1976.
He came to England in the autumn of 1979 and joined Toby Balding’s stable at Weyhill and rode over jumps during the 1980s with a fair measure of success but without any major winners.
He also rode on the Flat in 1981 and 1985 and it was his exploits on Hugh
O’Neill’s two-year-old filly Kasarose right in the BBC-televised Drawing Room Stakes at Goodwood on August 29, 1981, which probably brought him more attention than then ever he’d received over jumps.
It wasn’t as if he won the race; far from it, Kasarose finished tailed off last. It was what occurred before it that caught the attention of TV viewers and racegoers alike, for Martin hit the deck more times during the preliminaries for the race than in an average jumps season. Kasarose became very upset leaving the paddock and repeatedly decanted her jockey on to the ground. But Martin never let go of the reins and, using all his jump jockey’s skill, finally persuaded the recalcitrant filly to go to the starting post. The crowd’s huge cheer showed how much they admired his skill.
Sadly, Martin Coyle died young in 2001. He is survived by his brother, the successful Malton-based trainer Tony Coyle.
