GORDON RICHARDS HAS HIS FOUR THOUSANDTH WINNER IN SIGHT

Wanganui Chronicle, 5 May 1950, Page 2

GORDON RICHARDS HAS HIS FOUR THOUSANDTH WINNER IN SIGHT

LONDON, May 4 (Recd. 7.15 p.m.)— When the world champion jockey Gordon Richards has his 46th birthday tomorrow he will almost certainly bo able to celebrate having ridden his 4000th winner. Yesterday he did the “hat trick’’ at Sandown Park to bring his impressive total to 3999—a figure never even approached by any jockey before. No other jockey has won as much for his owners. Richards’ total prizemoney is £1,800,000. With jockeys usually getting at least 10 per cent, of the prize-money, Richards must have

received about £200,000 as well as retainers of £lO,OOO a year from owners. Although he has probably earned about £400,000 during his 29 years’ riding—and still has many years’ racing ahead of him. Steve Donoghue, for year’s Britain’s greatest rider, was reputed to have earned £250,000. Richards can claim to be the backers’ friend, for 60 per cent, of his successes have been on favourites. He has won on 45 different tracks but hai never ridden a winner abroad. In 1935 he had 12 wins in succession in two days. He has done the “hat trick” 111 times and has ridden four winners In succession 32 times, five winners 12 times, six once, seven once, and eight once.