Paul Ritchens

Article by Chris Pitt

Born in 1940, National Hunt jockey Paul Cyril Ritchens started out as an amateur in the late 1950s, riding for his father who trained two horses under permit Eriestoke, near Devizes, in Wiltshire. One of those, Gold Cash, became Paul’s first winner when landing a Chepstow novices’ chase on March 7, 1959.

 Despite having had no further wins, Paul turned professional in 1963 and joined Neville Dent’s stable at Brockenhurst, Hampshire. He rode his first winner in the paid ranks when Lido Lad obliged in a 2m 6f handicap hurdle at Nottingham on December 3, 1963. He rode two more winners that season, South Rock and Moonlight Message, both over fences and also trained by Dent.

 He enjoyed his best season in 1964/65, riding seven winners, the last two courtesy of Lido Lad, on whom Paul won a Taunton novices’ chase in February and a Wincanton handicap chase on Easter Monday 1965.

 Lido Lad was his sole winner of the 1965/66 season, landing a three-mile handicap chase at Plumpton, and there was none the next, indicating that Paul may have been hors de combat for at least part of that time.

 He was leading jockey for half an hour after winning the opening race of the 1967/68 season at Newton Abbot on Neville Dent’s decent hurdler Rugantino – probably the best horse Paul rode during his career – but, sadly, that proved to be his only success of the entire season. There was only one the next season too – Joey Webder at Wincanton on Easter Monday.

 Both of Paul’s wins in the 1969/70 season came courtesy of the former useful chaser Limeking, trained by Simon Morant, in ‘opportunity’ (i.e. conditional jockeys) races at Ludlow and Leicester.

 It was pretty much the same story the next season, two wins, both on Limeking in opportunity chases at Kempton in November and at Uttoxeter in December 1970. Just as Lido Lad had helped launch his career with four wins, so Limeking brought it to a close with four more, for Paul relinquished his licence at the end of that season, having ridden 18 winners all told.

He took out a trainer’s licence in 1994, based initially at Nether Wallop, near Stockbridge, and then at Shipton Ballinger, near Tidworth, where he remained until 2005 with a string of around a dozen. Probably his best horse was Hisar I, who was bred by the Aga Khan. Paul trained Hisar I to win a hurdle race and seven chases, including five in a row between June and September 2001. He was Paul’s last winner as a trainer when scoring at Chepstow on March 23, 2005.

 Paul Ritchens’ winners were, in chronological order:

1. Gold Cash, Chepstow, March 7, 1959

2. Lido Lad, Nottingham, December 3, 1963

3. South Rock, Worcester, March 9, 1964

4. Moonlight Message, above, Birmingham, May 13, 1964

5. Camp Fire II, Devon & Exeter, September 3, 1964

6. Will Thrower, Plumpton, October 19, 1964

7. Evening in Paris, Taunton, November 7, 1964

8. Moon-Star, Warwick, November 26, 1964

9. Berto, Lingfield Park, November 27, 1964

10. Lido Lad, Taunton, February 13, 1965

11. Lido Lad, Wincanton, April 19, 1965

12. Lido Lad, above, Plumpton, September 29, 1965

13. Rugantino, Newton Abbot, August 5, 1967

14. Joey Webder, Wincanton, April 7, 1969

15. Limeking, Ludlow, September 14, 1969

16. Limeking, Leicester, November 24, 1969

17. Limeking, above, Kempton Park, November 18, 1970

18. Limeking, Uttoxeter, December 10, 1970