James Edward Pike (4 September 1892 − 7 October 1969) nicknamed "The Master", was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal ...

jockey who was known for riding

Phar Lap Phar Lap (4 October 1926 – 5 April 1932) was a champion New Zealand–bred Thoroughbred racehorse who is widely regarded as New Zealand's greatest racehorse ever. Achieving incredible success during his distinguished career, his initial u ...

to victory in the 1930

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Me ...

. Pike was born on 4 September 1892 in

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle ar ...

, eldest child of Charles Pike and Jane Isabella Liddell. He started his career as a jockey in 1907. He went to England the following year and competed in 17 races, winning 2 and 5 placings. Returning to Australia he won his first major race at 18 in the

Victoria Derby The Victoria Derby, also known as the Penfolds Victoria Derby, is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held under Set Weights conditions over a distance of 2,500 metres at Flemington Racecourse, in Melbo ...

in 1910 with Beverage. Pike died in poverty on 7 October 1969, aged 77, at his home in

Bondi Bondi could refer to: Places in Australia New South Wales * Bondi, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia ** Bondi Beach, a beach and suburb of Sydney, Australia ** Bondi Junction, a suburb and commercial centre in Sydney, Australia * North ...

. In 2002, Pike was inducted into the

Australian Racing Hall of Fame The Australian Racing Hall of Fame is part of the Australian Racing Museum which documents and honours the horseracing legends of Australia. The museum officially opened in 1981 and created the Hall of Fame in 2000. The numbers in brackets a ...

Popular culture

In the 1983 feature film ''

'', Pike was played by Australian actor James Steele.

Honours

In 2002, Pike was inducted into the

.Jim Pike
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Image gallery

File:Phar Lap.jpg, Jim Pike and

Flemington Racecourse Flemington Racecourse is a major horse racing venue located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is most notable for hosting the Melbourne Cup, which is the world's richest handicap and the world's richest 3200-metre horse race. The race ...

, 1930. File:Peter Pan 1935 AJC Spring Stakes Jockey Jim Pike Trainer Frank McGrath.jpg, Jim Pike and

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

Randwick Racecourse Royal Randwick Racecourse is a racecourse for horse racing located in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Randwick Racecourse is Crown Land leased to the Australian Turf Club and known to many Sydney racegoers as headquarte ...

, 1935. File:Gothic 1928 VATC Caulfield Stakes Jockey Jim Pike Trainer Lou Robertson.jpg, Jim Pike and

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

Caulfield Racecourse Caulfield Racecourse Reserve is located nine kilometres from the Melbourne CBD, on the boundary of Caulfield and Caulfield East in Melbourne's south eastern suburbs. The Reserve was set aside for three purposes, racing, recreation and a publ ...

, 1928.

References

Australian jockeys 1892 births 1969 deaths Australian Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Newcastle, New South Wales Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Sportsmen from New South Wales 20th-century Australian people {{Australia-horseracing-bio-stub