Michael Germon
Michael Germon
Michael Germon
Article by Chris Pitt
Article by Chris Pitt
Flat jockey Michael ‘Gerry’ Germon was a successful apprentice jockey who went on to spend almost 60 years in racing. Born on October 10, 1940 in Kingsteignton, in the shadow of Newton Abbot racecourse, Michael rode show ponies and hunters as a young lad. He began his racing career in 1955 as an apprentice with Sir Gordon Richards, and rode his first winner on Pin Prick, owned by Dorothy Paget, at Chepstow on Bank Holiday Monday, August 4, 1958.He went on to ride ten winners as an apprentice, highlighted by the victory of the TowserGosden-trained Damredub in the 1962 Manchester November Handicap, beating Lester Piggott’s mount Dalnamein by four lengths. Michael came out of his time the following October and held a full licence until 1977. He became a highly valued work rider, having just the occasional mounts in public. Michael worked for Jeremy Tree and then Ryan Price, who provided him with his first winner in Britain for more than a decade when making all on Percewood in a three-year-old handicap at Brighton on August 22, 1974. He rode two more winners for Price in 1975 – Simon Slingsby at Lingfield on July 12, and Bahrain Paddy at Chepstow on October 21. In 1976 he rode three, again all for Price, on Galahad II at Nottingham on April 27, Takearisk at Goodwood on May 19, and finally on Fly High at Folkestone on July 20. He later worked for Towser Gosden’s son John Gosden before arriving at John Dunlop’s Arundel stable in 1984. When an accident at work resulted in hip and knee replacements, he was no longer able to ride work, but rather than leave the industry, he stayed on and became Dunlop’s travelling head lad. With more than half a century of service to the industry behind him, Gerry was recognised with a race named in his honour, the Michael (Gerry) Germon Lifetime in Racing Handicap at Goodwood on May 31, 2008. He died in April 2020, aged 79.
Flat jockey Michael ‘Gerry’ Germon was a successful apprentice jockey who went on to spend almost 60 years in racing. Born on October 10, 1940 in Kingsteignton, in the shadow of Newton Abbot racecourse, Michael rode show ponies and hunters as a young lad. He began his racing career in 1955 as an apprentice with Sir Gordon Richards, and rode his first winner on Pin Prick, owned by Dorothy Paget, at Chepstow on Bank Holiday Monday, August 4, 1958.He went on to ride ten winners as an apprentice, highlighted by the victory of the TowserGosden-trained Damredub in the 1962 Manchester November Handicap, beating Lester Piggott’s mount Dalnamein by four lengths. Michael came out of his time the following October and held a full licence until 1977. He became a highly valued work rider, having just the occasional mounts in public. Michael worked for Jeremy Tree and then Ryan Price, who provided him with his first winner in Britain for more than a decade when making all on Percewood in a three-year-old handicap at Brighton on August 22, 1974. He rode two more winners for Price in 1975 – Simon Slingsby at Lingfield on July 12, and Bahrain Paddy at Chepstow on October 21. In 1976 he rode three, again all for Price, on Galahad II at Nottingham on April 27, Takearisk at Goodwood on May 19, and finally on Fly High at Folkestone on July 20. He later worked for Towser Gosden’s son John Gosden before arriving at John Dunlop’s Arundel stable in 1984. When an accident at work resulted in hip and knee replacements, he was no longer able to ride work, but rather than leave the industry, he stayed on and became Dunlop’s travelling head lad. With more than half a century of service to the industry behind him, Gerry was recognised with a race named in his honour, the Michael (Gerry) Germon Lifetime in Racing Handicap at Goodwood on May 31, 2008. He died in April 2020, aged 79.