Pat Eddery was an 11-time champion jockey, the winner of 14 British classics, including three Derbys, and also won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe four times. His most memorable performance was in 1986 when he made up ground from what appeared to be an impossible position aboard Dancing Brave. It remains one of the most thrilling finishes in Flat racing history.
A Racing Post poll later ranked Dancing Brave’s stunning final surge at the Arc – together with another of Eddery’s finest moments, the King George on Grundy – as one of the greatest Flat races of all time.
Mr Eddery was known for his bravura finishes and “bump-bump” riding style and nicknamed “the Iceman” for his unflappable cool and “Polyfilla” for his desire to fill any gap in the field.
Patrick James Jo...
Pat Eddery was an 11-time champion jockey, the winner of 14 British classics, including three Derbys, and also won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe four times. His most memorable performance was in 1986 when he made up ground from what appeared to be an impossible position aboard Dancing Brave. It remains one of the most thrilling finishes in Flat racing history.
A Racing Post poll later ranked Dancing Brave’s stunning final surge at the Arc – together with another of Eddery’s finest moments, the King George on Grundy – as one of the greatest Flat races of all time.
Mr Eddery was known for his bravura finishes and “bump-bump” riding style and nicknamed “the Iceman” for his unflappable cool and “Polyfilla” for his desire to fill any gap in the field.
Patrick James John Eddery was born at Newbridge, Co Kildare, close to the Curragh racecourse, on March 18 1952. He was the son of the Irish champion jockey Jimmy Eddery, and began riding ponies at the age of four and racehorses by the time he was eight. He had his first ride on True Time at age 15, coming in last at the Curragh in August 1967.
He joined Frenchie Nicholson’s jockey academy later that year and rode his first winner, Alvaro, at Epsom on April 24 1969. During the following five years of his apprenticeship, he was given only one day off every three weeks. This hard work paid off and he was champion jockey in four successive seasons from 1974 to 1977.
In 1981, Mr Eddery signed with the trainer Vincent O’Brien and his principal owner, Robert Sangster, and went on to notch up wins that year. Following his 1986 win at the Arc on Dancing Brave, Eddery spent seven years as Khalid Abdullah’s retained jockey, riding the best of the prince’s horses.
His most often observed technique was giving his mount a few reminders with the whip in a race’s closing stages. A strong professionalism was reflected in his self-discipline over weight-control. He aimed to tip the scales at 8 stone plus a few lbs, and the Derby-winning jockey Ray Cochrane once noted that he had “never seen him finish a sandwich”.
Mr Eddery retired from racing in 2003 and in 2005 took a training licence, setting up a stable of 40 horses near Aylesbury. He also co-founded Pat Eddery Racing, a syndication company providing the opportunity for people to own shares in racehorses.
He died at 63 and is survived by two daughters and a son.
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