Flat jockey Stephen Paul Cottle was born in 1952 and served his apprenticeship with Scobie Breasley at Epsom. He achieved a notable first success when bringing home Miroyal in the Steve Donoghue Apprentice Handicap at Epsom on Bank Holiday Monday, August 31, 1970, his only winner that season.
Both his wins for 1971 came within a two-hour spell, scoring a double at Brighton on May 27 aboard two Breasley-trained horses, Man Of Courage in an apprentices’ handicap and Yangtze River in a one-mile handicap.
The highlight of his three-winner haul in 1972 was a second victory in the Steve Donoghue Apprentice Handicap, this one coming courtesy of Angus Kennedy’s horses Sayroy, also trained by Breasley.
Steve rode four winners in 1973, beginning with the William Hill Sprint Handicap at Newbury on May 26, riding Breasley’s Palm Track and scoring by a head from John Gorton’s mount Touch Paper. On June 30, he won a Lingfield two-year-old maiden on Breasley’s filly Illyria. Lingfield was also the scene of his next winner, making all on Jeune Premier for trainer Bill Payne on July 21. Clive Brittain supplied Steve with his last winner of that season, two-year-old Frizzante at Wolverhampton on August Bank Holiday Monday.
Three more victories came Steve’s way in 1974, easily the biggest being his win on Palm Track in the Chichester City Handicap at Glorious Goodwood. He registered five wins in 1975 including two on Breasley’s five-furlong sprinter Laseroy at Kempton in May and Newmarket in July.
Steve completed his apprenticeship in 1976 and held a professional jockey’s licence in 1977 and ’78 but failed to ride a winner. He did not hold a licence for the next six years – he may have ridden abroad – but he returned to action during the mid-1980s and was more successful, his winners including two on Queen’s Royale over the 1984 August Bank Holiday weekend. They scored at Windsor’s Saturday evening meeting and followed up at Warwick on the Monday afternoon.
Steve rode a total of around 20 winners in Britain - and possibly some others abroad - before hanging up his boots. He was certainly the man to follow on August bank holiday Mondays, having scored four times on that particular day.
