Noel Leonard "Digger" McGrowdie (25 December 1920 – 9 September 1961) was an Australian

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 ...

, best known for riding

Straight Draw Straight Draw (foaled 1952) was a New Zealand bred thoroughbred racehorse, that is most notable for winning the 1957 Melbourne Cup. Background Straight Draw was bred by Little Avondale Stud in New Zealand. Racing career Straight Draw started ...

to victory at the 1957 Melbourne Cup.

Biography

McGrowdie was born at Breakfast Creek in Brisbane, Queensland. His father, Charles Christopher McGrowdie, was a jockey-turned-

racehorse 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 pr ...

trainer. He finished schooling at St Mary's Christian Brothers' College, Toowoomba. McGrowdie won the

Doomben Cup The Doomben Cup is a Brisbane Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older, run under Weight for Age conditions over a distance of 2000 metres at Doomben Racecourse, Brisbane, Australia during the Queensland W ...

(1943), Brisbane Cup (1947 and 1950) and

Stradbroke Handicap The Stradbroke Handicap is a Brisbane Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred open handicap horse race, run over a distance of 1,400 metres at Eagle Farm Racecourse, Brisbane in June during the Queensland Winter Racing Carnival. It is one of the highligh ...

(1952) in Brisbane. After moving 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 ...

in 1943, he won the Epsom Handicap (1943),

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

(1944, 1945 and 1957),

Sydney Cup The Sydney Cup is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred handicap horse race, for horses three years old and older, run over 3200 metres at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in the autumn during the ATC Championships series and it is ...

(1951, 1952 and 1958) and Doncaster Handicap (1955 and 1958). In Melbourne, he won the

Oakleigh Plate The Oakleigh Plate is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred open handicap horse race, run over a distance of 1100 metres at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in late February. Total prize money is A$750,000. History The Oakl ...

(1948, 1954 and 1956), Newmarket Handicap (1954) and most notably the Melbourne Cub (1957). In 1960, McGrowdie left Australia on a riding contract in

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

(now Malaysia). That same year, he won the

Singapore Gold Cup The Singapore Gold Cup is a thoroughbred horse race held annually in November at Singapore Turf Club. Contested on turf over a left-handed course, the domestic Group 1 race is run over a distance of 2,000 metres and is open to local horses age t ...

. McGrowdie died in a road accident on 9 September 1961 in

Parit Buntar Parit Buntar ( Jawi: ڤاريت بونتر) is a town in Kerian District, Perak, Malaysia. It is bordering to Nibong Tebal in Penang and Bandar Baharu in Kedah.It is also the district capital of Kerian District. This district is known as t ...

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...

, Malaya. He was 40. He was survived by his wife, son and daughter. He was buried at Randwick Cemetery in the Sydney suburb of

South Coogee South Coogee is a coastal suburb in South-Eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. South Coogee is located 9 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Randwi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGrowdie, Noel 1920 births 1961 deaths Jockeys from Brisbane Road incident deaths in Malaysia