Charlie Goldsworthy

Article by Chris Pitt

Charlie Goldsworthy’s career as a National Hunt jockey was relatively short – barely three years between his first winner and his last – but he rode around 40 winners during that time and came close to winning several of the major races in the jumping calendar.

He was associated with Jack O’Donoghue’s Reigate stable and, following several placed efforts, finally rode his first winner on a novice chaser named Kamikaze at Kempton Park on January 6, 1973. That was the first of five successive wins on Kamikaze – the Kempton victory being followed by two at Fontwell and two at Windsor – within the space of two months. This kick-started Charlie’s career and, along with fellow O’Donoghue-trained novice chasers Hay Chas and Eskimo Nell, helped him end the season with a total of eleven wins.

He increased his score to 17 for the 1973/74 campaign, in which he first linked up with Sid Woodman’s good mare Credo’s Daughter (right). She was owned by the well-known actor James Bolam of ‘The Likely Lads’ and ‘When the Boat Comes in’ fame, along with fellow thespians Ronald Lacey and Susan Jamieson. Charlie rode her six times that season, the first occasion being when finishing third in Ascot’s Jock Scott Handicap Chase. They then won the Royal Windsor Handicap Chase, finished third in Sandown’s Stone’s Ginger Wine Chase, second to the Queen Mother’s Game Spirit in Windsor’s Fairlawne Chase, won the Abergavenny Challenge Cup Chase at Plumpton’s Easter Monday fixture, and finished fourth in that year’s Whitbread Gold Cup. Their first appearance of the 1974/75 season (left) went well, finishing third to Pendil and Game Spirit in Newbury’s Hermitage Chase but, for whatever reason, the mare was unable to build on that performance. However, she and Charlie were back firing on all cylinders in 1975/76, finishing second to Game Spirit in the Hermitage Chase, runner-up to Clear Cut in the Mackeson Gold Cup, fourth in April Seventh’s Hennessy, second to Easby Abbey in the Massey-Ferguson, and fourth behind What A Buck, Royal Relief and Bula in a high-quality SGB Chase at Ascot.

After performing with such credit in those top-class chases, Credo’s Daughter and Charlie then galloped to a richly-deserved success in the Ladbroke Finale Chase on the second day of Kempton’s Christmas meeting, December 27, 1975, beating the John Francome-ridden Pengrail by half a length. Following that popular victory, almost on the eve of her tenth birthday, Credo’s Daughter was retired to the paddocks, having won twelve races in all, over fences, hurdles and on the Flat.

Her retirement pretty much signalled the end of Charlie’s career too. He finished that season with just five winners on the board and did not renew his licence the following season. His career ran almost simultaneously alongside that of his younger brother, Paul Goldsworthy, who’d ridden his first winner on Jack O’Donoghue’s maiden chaser Fern Cottage at Fontwell Park on Whit Monday, May 28, 1973. However, Paul was nowhere near as successful as Charlie and only rode a total of four winners.