John Andrew Reid (born 6 August 1955 in
Banbridge
Banbridge ( , ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road (Northern Ireland), A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the River Bann in 1712. It is situated in the Civil parishes in Ireland, c ...
County Down
County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
) is a retired
flat race National Hunt flat races, informally known as bumper races, are a type of flat racing but run under National Hunt racing rules in Britain and Ireland.
National Hunt flat races were created on 15 July 1891 when a conference between the stewards of ...
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 ...
.
Reid served as an apprentice in his native Ireland to Leslie Crawford, before moving to England and joining Verley Bewicke. His first Classic victory came in the 1982
1,000 Guineas
The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...
aboard On The House. His first major Group 1 race win came in the 1978
at Ascot on
Ile de Bourbon. Reid won this race for a second time in 1997 on
Swain, when the top-class thoroughbreds
Helissio
Helissio (1993–2013) was a Thoroughbred racehorse sired by Fairy King and a grandson of Northern Dancer. Owned by the Spanish businessman Enrique Sarasola, he was voted the European Horse of the Year for 1996
His career highlight was win ...
,
Singspiel
A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk-like ...
and
Pilsudski were all beaten off.
His biggest victory came on
Dr Devious
Dr Devious (10 March 1989 – 7 March 2018) was an Irish-bred and British-trained Thoroughbred race horse. In a career which lasted from May 1991 until November 1992, he ran fifteen times and won six races. He is most notable as the winner of t ...
in the 1992
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...
for the trainer
Peter Chapple-Hyam
Peter Chapple-Hyam (born 2 April 1963 in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England) is a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He trained Dr Devious to win The Derby in 1992 and repeated the feat with Authorized in 2007. He managed two Group One wins ...
. He also won the 1988
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 ...
on
Tony Bin
Tony may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer
* Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...
. John was also successful in the
1,000 Guineas
The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...
in 1994 on
Las Meninas
''Las Meninas'' (; ) is a 1656 painting in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age. It has become one of the most widely analyzed works in Western painting, due to the way its complex an ...
and in the
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 ...
in 1998 on
Nedawi
Nedawi (foaled 9 April 1995), is a retired British Thoroughbred racehorse and active Horse breeding#Terminology, sire. In a career that lasted from June 1998 until July 1999, he ran seven times and won three races. He recorded his most important ...
.
Reid considered retirement in 1999 after a heavy fall at
Kempton Park, but kept going for another two years until announcing his retirement in September 2001, and becoming president of the
Jockeys Association
A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), 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 ...
.
John Reid was made an
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 ...
in 1997 for his services to horse racing.
In total, John Reid rode 1,937 winners in the UK, and gained 48 international Group 1 race victories during his career.
In 1987, on the BBC's television sports quiz ''
A Question of Sport
''Question of Sport'' (previously ''A Question of Sport'') is a British television sports quiz show produced and broadcast by the BBC. It is the "world's longest running TV sports quiz". Following a pilot episode in December 1968, broadcast on ...
'',
Emlyn Hughes
Emlyn Walter Hughes (28 August 1947 – 9 November 2004) was an English footballer. He started his career at Blackpool in 1964 before moving to Liverpool in 1967. He made 665 appearances for Liverpool and captained the side to three league ti ...
mistook a heavily-muddied picture of
Princess Anne
Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...
on a horse to be Reid.
John lives in Wiltshire, with his partner Ali Graham. He coaches jockeys.
References
John Reid profile at www.JockeysRoom.com28 September 2001 ''BBC Sport'' article titled "''Top jockey Reid quits''"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, John
1955 births
Living people
People from Banbridge
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Jockeys from Northern Ireland