__NOTOC__ George Duffield

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(born 30 November 1946) is an English retired

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 p ...

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 ...

. He served a seven-year apprenticeship with Jack Waugh, and rode his first winner on 15 June 1967 at

Great Yarmouth Racecourse Great Yarmouth racecourse is a horse racing course located a mile north of Great Yarmouth, owned by Arena Racing Company. The track takes the form of a narrow oblong of a mile and five furlongs round, with two long straights about five furlongs in ...

on a horse called Syllable, trained by Waugh. He became stable jockey for trainer

John Oxley John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (1784 – 25 May 1828) was an explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He served as Surveyor General of New South Wales and is perhaps best known for his two exp ...

in 1970, but this was not to be a successful partnership, and they split in 1972. After riding freelance for a bit, he was to become first jockey to trainer Sir

Mark Prescott Sir Mark Prescott, 3rd Baronet (born 1948), is an English race horse trainer with over 2000 winners to his name, including Alpinista, winner of the 2022 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. He is based at Heath House Stables, an historic 50 box yard at th ...

in 1974, a partnership which was to prove most enduring and fruitful. George Duffield spent 30 years as stable jockey to Prescott, riding 830 winners for him, including successes in Ireland, France and Belgium. Duffield was a journeyman jockey for a great part of his career, but he became much better known in 1992 thanks to the exploits of the three-year-old filly

User Friendly Usability can be described as the capacity of a system to provide a condition for its users to perform the tasks safely, effectively, and efficiently while enjoying the experience. In software engineering, usability is the degree to which a soft ...

, trained by

Clive Brittain Clive Brittain (born 15 December 1934) is a retired British race-horse trainer. He started in racing as an apprentice in 1949, and became a licensed trainer from 1972 after working for Noel Murless. He trained at Carlburg Stables in Newmarket, ...

, also at Newmarket, User Friendly gave Duffield his first 'Classic' success when winning The Oaks, she followed up by winning 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 i ...

Yorkshire Oaks The Yorkshire Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 3 ...

and

St. Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a ...

, before going down by a neck to Subotica in the

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance ...

Hippodrome de Longchamp The Longchamp Racecourse (french: Hippodrome de Longchamp) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced tr ...

.George Duffield MBE
/ref> Other big race victories included back to back

Champion Stakes The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlong ...

wins on the Prescott trained Alborada in 1998 and 1999, as well as landing major gambles on the Prescott trained handicapper Pasternak in the 1997

John Smith's Magnet Cup The John Smith's Cup (known until 1998 as the Magnet Cup) is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 2 furl ...

and

Cambridgeshire Handicap The Cambridgeshire Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile and 1 furlo ...

. George was also used by

Aidan O'Brien Aidan Patrick O'Brien (born 16 October 1969 in County Wexford, Ireland) Aidan O'Brien bio NTRA. ...

, and had two Group 1 victories for the Ballydoyle stable, when winning the 1999

Racing Post Trophy The Vertem Futurity Trophy is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), ...

on Aristotle and the 2000

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown P ...

Giant's Causeway The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the north coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (5 km) northeast of ...

.Duffield's verve undimmed by venerability
/ref> He had previously won the Eclipse Stakes in 1991 on the 28-1 chance

Environment Friend Environment Friend (19 March 1988 – 28 February 2012) was a British Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse and sire (horse), sire best known for his win in the 1991 running of the Eclipse Stakes, one of the United Kingdom's most important weight- ...

. Other major race victories include Noalcoholic in the

Sussex Stakes The Sussex Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and ...

at Goodwood, Pivotal in the

Nunthorpe Stakes The Nunthorpe Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged two years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is sched ...

at York and

King's Stand Stakes The King's Stand Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is scheduled ...

at Royal Ascot,

Nassau Stakes The Nassau Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile, 1 furlong ...

at Goodwood on both Last Second and Alborada and Champion Turf hors
Hasten To Add
in the Tote Ebor at York. George Duffield also entered the ''

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'' in 1980, for winning 11 consecutive races (and 13 in all) on the brave two-year-old Spindrifter. He was awarded the

in 2003 for his services to British Horse Racing. His autobiography ''Gentleman George'' was published in 2002; in it, he admitted punching BHB chairman Peter Savill during a row at

Beverley Beverley is a market town, market and minster (church), minster town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located south-east of York's centre ...

. In total he rode 2,547 winners placing him at No. 10 in the all-time list in Britain, he twice rode over 100 winners in a season, the first time in 1992, but his best season in terms of winners was in 1993 when he had 116 successes. His last winner was in 2004, although he did not announce his retirement until the following year after failing to recover from a shoulder injury. He was for many years before his retirement the oldest jockey in Britain, well liked by fellow jockeys, trainers, owners (perhaps excepting Peter Savill) and punters alike. He is now assistant trainer to his second wife Ann.

Major wins

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

Champion Stakes The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlong ...

– (2) – '' Alborada (1998), Alborada (1999)'' *

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown P ...

– (2) – ''

(1991),

(2000)'' *

Falmouth Stakes The Falmouth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,6 ...

– ''Stumped (1980)'' *

– ''

Pivotal Pivotal may refer to: * Pivotal CRM, a customer relationship management software system offered by Aptean * Pivotal Labs, a software company ** Pivotal Tracker, a project management product offered by Pivotal Labs * Pivotal Software, a softwar ...

(1996)'' *

Lockinge Stakes The Lockinge Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) at Newbur ...

– ''

Noalcoholic Noalcoholic (13 March 1977 – December 1997) was a French-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He showed useful form when trained in France and was set to be exported to stand as a breeding stallion in Australia. During what was intended to be ...

(1983)'' *

Nassau Stakes The Nassau Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile, 1 furlong ...

– (2) – ''Last Second (1996), Alborada (1998)'' *

– ''

(1996)'' *

Oaks Stakes The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards ( ...

– ''

(1992)'' *

St Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a ...

– ''

(1992)'' * Sun Chariot Stakes – ''Last Second (1996)'' *

Sussex Stakes The Sussex Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and ...

– ''

(1983)'' * Vertem Futurity Trophy – ''

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

(1999)'' *

Yorkshire Oaks The Yorkshire Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 3 ...

– ''

(1992)'' ----

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Flying Five Stakes The Flying Five Stakes 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 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is scheduled t ...

– ''Danehurst (2002)'' *

– ''

(1992)'' * Matron Stakes – ''Iftiraas (2000)'' ----

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud The Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is ...

– ''

(1993)''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duffield, George 1946 births English jockeys Lester Award winners Living people Members of the Order of the British Empire

Major wins

See also

References