Andy Orkney

Born in Sheffield on August 11, 1961, but raised in Bedford, Andy Orkney rode his first winner on Saturday, February 9, 1985, when bringing Joca home in the Eglinton Amateur Riders Maiden Hurdle Hurdle at Ayr.

Or so he thought.

Celebrations came to an abrupt end when the horse was disqualified after failing a dope test.

Andy had just two weeks to wait for his first 'proper' winner - he stormed home by ten lengths on 14/1 shot Golden Ty in the Dingley Dell Hunters' Chase at Nottingham on February 26.

Future Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Little Owl finished sixth.

Andy and Golden Ty, seeking greater glory, then headed for Aintree for the Foxhunters'.

But it was not to be.

His stirrup-iron broke the fence before Becher's 'the last fence in the world you would want to see coming up without pedals,' as Andy said after.

With a voice that rose an octave at every fence after that, Andy - no help to his partner without irons - gallantly clung on to finish six lengths second to second favourite City Boy (Mr T Thomson Jones).

There was no doubting that he had been desperately unlucky.

In his other life, in 1982, Andy had become a professional optometrist in 1982, and ran an optician's shop in Leyburn, Middleham.

With thoughts of Golden Ty behind him he, later that year, headed off to Peru, primarily as a venturer though Operation Raleigh.

He hadn't been recruited for his professional skills as an optician but, amazingly, he ran across a missionary who had a suitcase full of spectacles. Andy distributed them among the natives.

Two years later, Andy joined the ranks of professional jockeys though still maintained his optician's practice.

His first ride in the Grand National proved unmemorable: riding 300/1 rank outsider, Kersil, he pulled up when the horse tired on the soft going.

Andy's biggest win came on Howe Street, trained by Howard Johnson. Together they won the Tote's 7th Race Handicap Chase at Aintree in 1992.

The following day, Andy rode Old Applejack in the Grand National, finishing seventh.

Andy was back at Aintree the following year. He had, the previous November, beaten Richard Dunwoody and Peter Scudamore in a three-runner chase at Newbury and the delighted trainer, Howard Johnson, asked him to ride Howe Street in the 1993 National.

Unfortunately, this was always to be known as the void Grand National: a monumental cock-up at the start resulted in chaotic scenes with several horses jumping off while others were dismounted.

Andy was one of the jockeys who broke smartly and was unaware that a false start had been called.

The first time he realised that something was wrong was when he saw bollards in front of the Chair. He put their presence down to pestilent animal rights protesters.

Riding between the bollards, he cleared the fence.

Andy continued, eventually coming down two fences before Becher's.

Having ridden 99 winners in the U.K (plus one in Russia in 1990 when he became the first British jockey to ride a winner over jumps in that country), he retired.

He announced his retirement at Carlisle racecourse on December 30, 1993.

While continuing to run his optician's shop, he became a racecourse steward and judge at Ripon and Catterick and then worked as a part-time judge for the Jockey Club.

He then fulfilled an ambition to become a racecourse commentator: he debuted at Carlisle in June 2000 and for the next five years continued in this role.

It all ended rather badly.

He was not allocated any meetings for 2006: he immediately appealed against his demotion from the commentators' list.

However, at a later meeting, the powers-that-be decided that they were happy with the decision to terminate the 44-year-old's contract.

Andy returned to commentating at point-to-points.

In 1989, Andy resumed his foreign adventures, this time in darkest Cameroon where he tested the eyes of the natives and handed out glasses.

Andy and his wife, Barbara, are keen Bridge players. They were presented with a pair of claret jugs after becoming national bridge champions following victory in the Marie Curie Cancer Care National Bridge Tournament in which there were 1,800 players.

Andy and Barbara are members of the Wensleydale Bridge Club.

In the 1980s, Andy appeared on the televised game show Busman's Holiday. As part of a three-man jockey team, he famously triumphed over a team of hairdressers and AA patrolmen.

Journeyman jockey Alan gained a long-overdue first success as a professional rider when winning on the Mick Naughton trained Legal Emperor at Edinburgh on 21 December, 1987.

It was his sixtieth ride as a pro.