- John A. Reid
John Andrew Reid (born
August 6 ,1955 inBanbridge County Down ,Northern Ireland is a retired flat racejockey . 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 aboard On The House. His first major group 1 race win came in the 1978King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot on Ile De Bourbon. John won this race for a second time in 1997 on Swain, in one of the greatest horse races of the 20th century, where the top class thoroughbredsHelissio , Singspiel and Pilsudski were all beaten off.His biggest victory came on
Dr Devious in the 1992Epsom Derby for the trainerPeter Chapple-Hyam . He also won the 1988Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe onTony Bin . John was also successful in theSt. Leger Stakes in 1998 on Medawi.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 .John Reid was made an
MBE 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 ",Emlyn Hughes famously mistook a heavily-muddied picture of Princess Anne on a horse to be Reid.
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