Tony Meaney

Northern-based National Hunt jockey Anthony Patrick Meaney was born on May 20, 1950. He joined Gordon W. Richards’ Greystoke stable in 1970 and rode his first winner in Britain on Patrona (bottom) in the Guy Fawkes Handicap Hurdle at Teesside Park (Stockton) on October 31, 1970.

Seven days later, November 7, he scored a high-profile victory on Red Sweeney in the Ladbroke-sponsored Billy Bow Handicap Hurdle at Newcastle. The combination won again at Wetherby on Boxing Day. Later that season, Tony won twice each on novice hurdlers Pneuma at Ayr and Catterick in February and Cater at Ayr in March and Carlisle in April. He thus ended the 1970/71 campaign with a score of seven.

He rode just three winners in 1971/72, two of them on Cool Angel in handicap hurdles at Hexham. However, he doubled that to six the following season, helped by wins on hurdlers Carnival Jest and Rush Creek at Wetherby’s Easter fixture and on Rush Creek again at Newcastle in May.

Tony enjoyed his most successful season in 1973/74 with 16 wins from 110 mounts, mostly emanating from the Darlington stables of trainer Bill Simpson. They included handicap hurdles at Sedgefield and Ayr on Camillus, owned by Harry Lane, and three Sedgefield handicap chases on another of Lane’s horses, The Celestial Traveller, plus another Lane-owned horse, Thundergold, again at Sedgefield. He also won twice apiece on Simpson’s novice hurdlers Brorain at Sedgefield at Carlisle, and Jisk’s Farewell, both times at Wetherby.

Tony kicked off the 1974/75 campaign with two Sedgefield victories on Simpson’s chaser Ulsterman. The second of those, on September 27, initiated a double, completed by another of Simpson’s horses, novice chaser Nice Shoe. He then won on Mick Naughton’s chaser Collingwood at Perth in October. In November he won twice within seven days on Bill Haigh’s novice hurdler Freebourne, scoring at Sedgefield and Kelso; then rode another of Haigh’s horses, juvenile hurdler Hanns Christof, to victory at Catterick in December.

Simpson died early in 1975 and his wife took over the training licence. In March, Tony won a Sedgefield selling hurdle for her on Senciel. He ended that campaign by winning on another of her horses, novice hurdler Siegfried Line, again at Sedgefield, giving him a tally of ten wins for the season.

For whatever reason – it may have been a series of injuries – Tony’s career nosedived from thereon. His sole success from 70 rides in 1975/76 came on novice chaser Braw Lad at Kelso on April 28, 1976. It was a similar story the following season, one win from 52 mounts, this one being Ulsterman for Darlington trainer Bill Stubbs at Market Rasen on August Bank Holiday Monday 1976.

Two years later, on that same Bank Holiday Monday, August 28, 1978, Tony’s rode what proved to be his final winner, Autumn Crocus in a Southwell selling hurdle. It was his sole success from just 28 rides that season.