Article by Chris Pitt
Irishman Paddy Conlon was a leading National Hunt jockey in Britain for a short period in the immediate post-war years.
He rode successfully in Ireland before crossing the Irish Sea, sometimes winning races at venues that have since been lost to racing, such as Miltown-Malbay, in County Clare, where he won a handicap hurdle on Stornamond on August 21, 1936. He relocated to England not long afterwards, one of his earliest winners here being Irish Vein in a two-mile handicap chase at Kempton for Findon trainer Bob Gore on January 27, 1937.
He rode regularly for Bob Gore up until the outbreak of war and beyond until National Hunt racing was suspended, whereupon Paddy returned to Ireland and rode a few winners there. But he was back as soon as the sport resumed in Britain, riding Luncarty to victory in one of the first fixtures at Cheltenham in February 1945. He notched several other wins before the end of that first abbreviated season.
He rode for Tom Yates at Russley Park in those immediate post-war years and enjoyed plenty of success, including when notching a treble at Taunton on November 22, 1945, then winning on Luncarty at Worcester the following day. Luncarty also formed the second leg of an Easter Monday double at Huntingdon in 1946.
He rode Prattler for Tom Yates in the 1947 Grand National. Although Prattler fell that day, Paddy managed to win on him next time out at Taunton. Another decent chaser he rode for Yates was National Member, on whom he won five times.
He had a winning ride for Fulke Walwyn on Ever Bright at Hereford in October 1948 but that turned out to be Paddy’s only winner of an injury-plagued campaign.
His score of seven for the 1949/50 season was achieved on just two horses, namely Rumpus, who won three early season hurdle races around the Devon tracks, and the Duchess of Norfolk’s handicap chaser Possible, on whom Paddy won four times, at Devon & Exeter, Worcester, Sandown Park and, finally, the Star and Garter Handicap Chase at Hurst Park on January 19, 1950. He then rode Possible in the Hurst Park Grand National Trial, finishing fourth behind Red April and Cromwell, before partnering him in the Grand National itself, in which he fell at Valentine’s first time.
Possible went on to win the next season’s Molyneux Chase over the Aintree fences, but with Dick Francis in the saddle not Paddy Conlon. The highlight of that 1950/51 season for Paddy was winning Birmingham’s Ashby Handicap Chase on Fulke Walwyn’s Tommy Traddles, having looked beaten when Arthur Thompson brought Preoccupation through to challenge over the last fence. However, Tommy Traddles battled on gamely under Paddy all the way up the run-in to score by three-quarters of a length.
Sadly, Paddy’s career petered out with the arrival of the 1950s and he rode only two more winners: selling chaser Rural Rascal at Worcester on February 28, 1953, and finally, Waxen Image in the Nailsworth Handicap Hurdle at Wincanton on November 5, 1953.
