Jimmy Eddery (1922–1988) was an Irish jockey, who won the 1955

Irish Derby The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a dista ...

and was twice Irish flat racing Champion Jockey. He was also father of several jockey sons, of whom Pat was most successful, becoming champion on both sides of the Irish Sea.

Career

James Eddery was born in

Doneraile Doneraile (), historically Dunnerail, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is on the R581 regional road east of the N20 road, which runs from Limerick to Cork. It is about north of Mallow town. It is on the River Awbeg, a branch of th ...

, Co. Cork on 25 July 1922, one of several jockey brothers, of whom he was the most successful. He served his apprenticeship with

Atty Persse Henry Seymour "Atty" Persse (1869–1960) was a British racehorse trainer. He was Champion Trainer in 1930. Persse was commissioned a second-lieutenant in the Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry The Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry (DLOY) wa ...

in Hampshire, before returning home to Ireland at the start of World War II, having immediate success for trainers like Fred Myerscough. In 1944, he dead-heated for the

Irish 2,000 Guineas The Irish 2,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it ...

on Good Morning and the Irish Cambridgeshire on Dawros. He won the former outright the following year on Stalino. In 1946, he succeeded Morny Wing as first jockey to Seamus McGrath. He was successful on Panaslipper in the 1955

Irish Derby The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a dista ...

, having been beaten into second at 100/1 in the

Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

equivalent. In 1957, he won the

St. James's Palace Stakes The St James's Palace Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old Colt (horse), colts. It is run at Ascot Racecourse, Ascot ...

on Chevastrid for the McGraths, beating Tempest by a head. The same year, he was beaten a short head on Carrozza (for the

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

) in the English Oaks and won the

Irish Oaks The Irish Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres), and it ...

on Silken Glider. He retired from riding in 1959, and stayed with McGrath as assistant trainer, along with his brother Connie, who was travelling head lad. His sons

Patrick Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint * Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

, Michael and David became jockeys, with Pat following in his father's footsteps as Irish champion in 1982 and becoming the first Irish born

British flat racing Champion Jockey The champion jockey of flat racing in Great Britain is the rider who has the most wins during a season. For most of its existence, the jockeys championship was decided on the number of winners ridden between Lincoln Handicap Day and November ...

. He died on 26 August 1988, aged 66 and is buried in Newmarket town cemetery.

Style and reputation

Jimmy Eddery was known for riding winners by "force rather than persuasion". Aubrey Brabazon wrote in his autobiography, "Jimmy was a terrible butcher on horse-back and I am certainly not alone in stating that he ruined a lot of good McGrath horses over the years. He wouldn't survive too long if he was riding today with the new whip rules."

Major wins

Great Britain *

– ''Chevastrid (1957)'' ---- Ireland *

Irish Derby The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a dista ...

– ''Panaslipper (1955)'' *

– ''Silken Glider (1958)'' *

– ''Good Morning (1944 – dead heat), Stalino (1945)''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eddery, Jimmy 1922 births 1988 deaths Irish jockeys

Career

Style and reputation

Major wins

See also

References