Richard Laurence "Darby" McCarthy (1944 – 6 May 2020) was an Australian jockey.

Early life

McCarthy was born in a sandhills camp at

Cunnamulla Cunnamulla () is a town and a locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Charleville, and approximately west of the state capital, Brisbane. In the , Cunnamulla had a population of 1,140 people. Geography Cunnamulla ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, the son of Albert and Kate, who married at 13.

Career

He became one of Australia's best

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 ...

s in the 1950s and 60s, and did much to further the Aboriginal cause. Olympian runner

Cathy Freeman Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman (born 16 February 1973) is an Aboriginal Australian former sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. Her personal best of 48.63 seconds currently ranks her as the ninth-fastest woman of all time, set ...

said of him:

Darby influenced me and encouraged me to strive for excellence in all that I do and to persevere against all odds and for this I will forever be thankful... We first met in Queensland when I was 15 and Darby and his family were kind enough to let me stay on weekends away from boarding school at
Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...
. (quoted in ''Against all Odds'')

McCarthy raced frequently in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, where his records include three Stradbrokes, the

Brisbane Cup The Brisbane Cup is a Brisbane Racing Club Group 2 The term Group 2 may refer to: * Alkaline earth metal, a chemical element classification * Astronaut Group 2, also known as The New Nine, the second group of astronauts selected by NASA in 1962 ...

and the

Doomben 10,000 The Doomben 10,000 is a Brisbane Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred Weight for Age horse race, run over a distance of 1200 metres at Doomben Racecourse, Brisbane, Australia during the Queensland Winter Racing Carnival. Total prize money is A$ ...

before he moved to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. He won the 1969

AJC Derby AJC may refer to: * Agreement on Journey Continuation, an agreement between European rail operators to allow passengers in case of a missed connection * Allen Jack+Cottier (AJ+C), an architectural practice * American Jewish Committee, an advocacy g ...

on ''Divide And Rule'' and the Epsom with ''Broker's Tip'' on the same day. McCarthy then went on to race in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, including at

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 and ...

and in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, before a brief retirement and further riding in

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

. He was inducted into the Queensland Racing Hall of Fame during the Industry Awards Night held in

, July 2004.

Death

McCarthy died on 6 May 2020, aged 76.

References

* * * *

Early life

Career

Death

References

Further reading