Patrick F. Conlon

Until relatively recently, Kilbeggan used to stage Flat racing as well as jumps. It is now one of just two jumps only tracks in Ireland, the other being Wexford.

Kilbeggan was the scene of a tragedy on Monday, May 12, 1952, when 21-year-old Patrick F. Conlon died from injuries sustained in a nine-horse pile-up in the mile-and-a-quarter Midland Handicap. 

The young County Meath-born jockey had first gone into racing as an apprentice with trainer R.J. McCormick at Clonbarron. He weighed only 4st 7lb when riding his first winner on Dulcinea in the Headfort Apprentices’ Plate at Phoenix Park on June 22, 1946. He was so small that during the early days of his career it was not unusual to see his trainer lift the tiny rider into the saddle.

 Despite his lack of inches, Patrick’s services were eagerly sought after. In 1949 he won three races in a row on McCormick’s two-year-old filly Red Anita, including the valuable Maher Nursery Handicap at Phoenix Park. However, easily the best horse he rode that year was another two-year-old filly named First View, trained by Hubert Hartigan. Patrick rode her to win two of Ireland’s most important juvenile contests at the Curragh, the Anglesey Plate in September and the National Produce Stakes on the first day of October. 

Patrick also won three times that year on McCormick’s Eastern Gem, following successes at Leopardstown and Baldoyle with victory in the Royal Whip at the Curragh, the first leg of a notable double completed by First View in the aforementioned National Produce Stakes.

He recorded a tally of 25 wins from 183 mounts in 1949, placing him third in the Irish Flat Jockeys’ Championship behind Herbert Holmes and Morny Wing. 

Patrick won the National Produce Stakes for the second year running in 1950, this time on Star Wire, also trained by Hubert Hartigan. He finished that year with 17 wins from 215 mounts.

He recorded another high-profile success when winning the 1951 Irish Lincolnshire aboard Penny On The Jack, finishing the year with a score of 15 wins from 156 mounts. Then, in February 1952, he joined the Navan stable of Tony Riddel-Martin.

There were 16 runners in the Midland Handicap on that fateful May afternoon at Kilbeggan. Patrick’s mount was called Timber Topper, trained by Riddel-Martin. He had ridden the horse on several previous occasions. 

The trouble started when 10-1 shot Rathnew, the mount of Ron Lawson, stumbled and fell. In trying to avoid him, eight others crashed to the ground. Rathnew then jumped the rails and proceeded towards the horse-box enclosure. Meanwhile, jockeys Patrick Conlon and Johnny Rafferty both lay injured, but no one realised how serious Patrick’s injuries were. 

He was taken to the County Hospital in Mullingar, where it was discovered that he had a fracture of the right collarbone, the left shoulder-blade and, most serious of all, a fracture of the skull. He died from those injuries the following night, May 13, just after 11.30pm.

It was the first fatal accident in Kilbeggan’s long history. The long-term effect of the tragedy was that the payment of compensation put the Kilbeggan Race Committee in debt and by 1956 it almost brought an end to Kilbeggan races. 

Sadly, it was not to be the last such fatality at Kilbeggan, for, 51 years later, in August 2003, 25-year-old jump jockey Kieran Kelly died from injuries received when falling from Balmy Native in a steeplechase there.