David Paul Harrison (born 8 July 1972 in

St Asaph St Asaph (; cy, Llanelwy "church on the Elwy") is a city and community on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 3,355, making it the second-smallest city in Britain in terms of population and urban ...

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, ...

) is a former

flat racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

. Harrison rode his first winner on a horse called Majestic Image at

Southwell Racecourse Southwell Racecourse (pronounced /ˈsʌðəl/ or /ˈsaʊθwɛl/) is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located east of Southwell in Nottinghamshire, England. It is one of only six racecourses in the UK to have an all-weather track and is one of ...

St David's Day Saint David's Day ( cy, Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant or ; ), or the Feast of Saint David, is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March, the date of Saint David's death in 589 AD. The feast has been regularly celebr ...

, 1 March 1991. He went on to become the British flat racing Champion Apprentice jockey in 1992, with 56 winners, also winning the Lester Award for 'Apprentice Jockey of the Year'. During his 11 years in racing, his major wins included the Royal Hunt Cup for

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races a ...

(Colour Sergeant) along with victories in the Hong Kong Derby (Holy Grail) and

Irish St. Leger The Irish St Leger is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 6 furlongs (2,816 metres), and it i ...

( Arctic Owl). Other notable winners include Mongol Warrior, trained by Lord Huntingdon which became the first British trained winner of the Swiss Derby and Single Empire, trained by

Peter Chapple-Hyam Peter Chapple-Hyam (born 2 April 1963 in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England) is a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He trained Dr Devious to win The Derby in 1992 and repeated the feat with Authorized in 2007. He managed two Group One wins in ...

, winner of the

Derby Italiano The Derby Italiano is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Capannelle over a distance of 2,200 metres (about 1 mile and 3 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year i ...

. He also rode many winners as stable jockey to trainers James Fanshawe and Brian Kan. Harrison's career ended prematurely, after he damaged his

spinal cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the sp ...

when he fell from the racehorse, My Chief, in a race at

Sha Tin Racecourse Sha Tin Racecourse is one of the two racecourses for horse racing in Hong Kong. It is located in Sha Tin in the New Territories. It is managed by Hong Kong Jockey Club. Penfold Park is encircled by the track, and the Hong Kong Sports I ...

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, on 30 May 2001. My Chief clipped the heels of another horse and took a heavy fall. After his accident, Harrison relocated to

Andalucia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...

and became an agent for other jockeys.

References

Welsh jockeys 1972 births Living people Sportspeople from St Asaph Lester Award winners British Champion apprentice jockeys {{UK-horseracing-bio-stub