Neil Clay

Article by Chris Pitt

National Hunt jockey Neil Clay was the son of Bill Clay, who trained near Uttoxeter. Together they enjoyed plenty of success at their local course and elsewhere too.

Neil started out as an amateur rider and rode seven winners during his first season, the first of which was on Gold Digger,

trained by his father, in the Overton Handicap Hurdle at Bangor-on-Dee on October 14, 1972. Others included a horse named Spariot  in a Wolverhampton novices’ hurdle in January 1973. Spariot would prove to be a stable stalwart over the next few seasons, carrying Neil to victory three more times when switched to fences.

He turned professional at the start of the 1973/74 campaign and enjoyed his most successful season in 1975/76 when he rode 15 winners. They were mostly in selling hurdles with horses such as Appin, Lionsmead, Tingalary, King’s Fling, Prince Ardent and Triple, all trained by his father. However, some were well above selling class, such as Benevolence, on whom Neil won novice hurdles at Southwell and Uttoxeter during his 10-winner 1976/77 season.

Increasing weight eventually got the better of him and he retired in 1983, having ridden more than 100 winners. He was superseded as stable jockey by his sister, Diane Clay. Neil left racing and ran his own block paving business. He is also rumoured to have been a singer in a pop group.

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