Patrick Taaffe (9 March 1930,

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

- 7 July 1992, Dublin) was an Irish

National Hunt National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, Great Britain and Ireland. Jump Racing requires horses to jump over fences and ditches. In ...

jockey who is best remembered as the jockey of Arkle. The pair dominated National Hunt racing in the mid-sixties, winning the Irish Grand National, the King George VI Chase, two Hennessy Gold Cups, three

Cheltenham Gold Cup The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlon ...

s and the Whitbread Cup. Taaffe was born into a racing family. His father, Tom Taaffe, was a trainer who saddled the winner of the 1958 Grand National, Mr. What. A brother, Tos Taaffe, would become a leading jumps jockey. Taaffe started riding at an early age and won his first point-to-point in 1946 while still at school. In 1950, by this time a professional jockey, he joined the yard of trainer Tom Dreaper, where he remained as a stable jockey until his retirement in 1970. Taaffe secured the first of two

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it ...

wins in 1955, riding the

Vincent O'Brien Michael Vincent O'Brien (9 April 1917 – 1 June 2009) was an Irish race horse trainer from Churchtown, County Cork, Ireland. In 2003 he was voted the greatest influence in horse racing history in a worldwide poll hosted by the ''Racing Pos ...

trained Quare Times. The second was in 1970, when he rode Gay Trip, trained by Fred Rimell. There were also six victories in the Irish Grand National (1954 Royal Approach, 1955 Umm, 1959 Zonda, 1961 Fortria, 1964 Arkle, 1966 Flyingbolt). Taaffe rode Arkle, who was trained by Dreaper, for the first time in a race at

Naas Naas ( ; or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In 2022, it had a population of 26,180, making it the largest town in County Kildare (ahead of Newbridge, County Kildare, Newbridge) and the List of urban ar ...

on 10 March 1962. Arkle started favourite in the Rathconnel Handicap Hurdle over two miles and won by four lengths. Taaffe would go on to ride Arkle in all his 27 steeplechases, with 23 wins including the Irish Grand National, the King George VI Chase, two Hennessy Gold Cup, Hennessy Gold Cups, three Cheltenham Gold Cups and the Whitbread Cup. After Arkle's injury and retirement, Taaffe partnered his stablemate Fort Leney to victory in the 1968 Cheltenham Gold Cup. After retiring as a jockey in 1970, Taaffe went on to train Captain Christy, the 1974 Gold Cup winner. Although a brilliant horseman, the business side of training did not come naturally to him and his training career did not flourish. In 1955, Taaffe married Molly Lyons, sister of a veterinary surgeon. The couple had four daughters and two sons. Son Tom Taaffe became a jockey and trainer; grandson Pat Taaffe is an amateur jockey. Taaffe died in 1992 in Dublin Hospital, aged 62, of a heart condition, having previously undergone only the third heart transplant operation in Ireland (in 1989).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taaffe, Pat 1930 births 1992 deaths Irish jockeys Equestrians from County Dublin Irish racehorse trainers People educated at Belvedere College People from Rathcoole, County Dublin