Patrick Gulwell

1930 - 2011

Article by Chris Pitt

Patrick Edward Robert Gulwell was born on 9 May 1930, and was apprenticed to both Captain Rupert Laye at Bonita Stables, Marlborough and to Major John Beresford Powell, whose horses were trained at Hightown, Aldbourne, Marlborough.

He rode his first winner on Wishbone at Southwell on 3 May 1954 and went on to ride a total of 64 during his career. His best seasons were in 1957/58 and 1958/59 when he rode 10 winners in each, the latter campaign ending on a high note with a hat-trick in the last three races at Market Rasen on 9 May, 1959.

By far his biggest victory was achieved on the Peter Easterby-trained Stirling in the inaugural running of the Gillette Handicap Hurdle at Newcastle on 8 December 1962. At the time, this was the richest hurdle race ever staged in Britain with £7,000 in prize money, thus dwarfing other important events such as Sandown’s Imperial Cup and Liverpool’s November Hurdle. (Its reign as Britain’s richest hurdle race lasted less than four months, when the inaugural running of the Schweppes Gold Trophy at Liverpool on 28 March 1963 overtook it with a winner’s prize of £7,825 2s 6d.)

Understandably given the massive prize, the race attracted a large and distinguished field and it produced an extraordinary finish. Stirling took over from pacemaker Royal Jenny at the fourth flight and quickly built up a clear lead but Gulwell, who had won a pair of novice hurdles at Doncaster and Newcastle on Stirling the previous season, was seen to be hard at work with half the journey still to go. Pawnbroker (Paddy Broderick) swept past Stirling with two to jump, only to have the lead taken off him by Old Mull (Johnnie East). Coming to the last it seemed that Old Mull had the race in safekeeping but the confident roar of his delighted supporters suddenly turned to alarm as he noticeably slowed on the run-in, apparently thinking the race was won, while the supposedly beaten Stirling staged an incredible comeback sprint. Desperately as East tried, he could not shake Old Mull out of his excruciatingly deliberate stride which seemed to be aimed at the exit gate, and 100-8 chance Stirling caught him close home to win by half a length.

Gulwell rode Stirling in the following year’s Gillette Hurdle but they were unable to repeat their victory of 12 months earlier, finishing unplaced.

Despite this high profile victory, during the next four seasons Gulwell managed a total of just 10 winners, although they included another big prize on Groomsman, owned and trained by Stan Roberts, in Wetherby’s Godfrey Long Handicap Chase, worth £1,035 to the winner, in May 1966. Roberts usually rode Groomsman himself – he had ridden him in that year’s Grand National – but was unable to do the weight at Wetherby so booked Gulwell for the ride.

The last of Pat Gulwell’s 64 winners was achieved on Badger in a Wetherby selling hurdle on 27 March 1967. Very much a journeyman north country jockey, he enjoyed hunting and tennis away from the saddle.

In retirement he worked as a member of the raceday staff at Catterick and could always be found on the gate, guiding people across the course in between races, a job he was still doing until as recently as 2010.

He died on 10 November 2011, aged 81.