Patrick Taaffe (9 March 1930,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

- 7 July 1992, Dublin) was an Irish

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

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 Irish Grand National is a National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 3 miles and 5 furlongs (5,834 ...

, the King George VI Chase, two

Hennessy Gold Cup /Ladbrokes Trophy The Coral Gold Cup is a Premier Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run ...

s, 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 furlongs ...

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 Mr. What was an Irish bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse noted for winning the 1958 Grand National. An eight-year-old gelding owned by David Coughlan, trained by Tom Taaffe. Mr. What was ridden by The Queen Mother's jockey Arthur Fr ...

. 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 Thomas William Dreaper (1898-1975) was a Irish steeplechase racehorse trainer, best known for having been the trainer of Arkle and Flyingbolt. Dreaper was born into a farming family in Donaghmore near Ashbourne on the County Meath-County ...

, where he remained as 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 Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handica ...

wins in 1955, riding the

Vincent O'Brien 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 Post''. In e ...

trained Quare Times. The second was in 1970, when he rode Gay Trip, trained by Fred Rimell. There were also six victories in the

(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 ( ; ga, Nás na Ríogh or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 21,393, making it the second largest town in County Kildare after Newbridge. History The name of Naas has been recorded in th ...

on 10 March 1962. Arkle started favourite in the Rathconnel Handicap Hurdle over two miles at 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, 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 Sportspeople from Dublin (city) Irish racehorse trainers People educated at Belvedere College