Born in Chadderton, near Oldham, Greater Manchester on September 6, 1949, Mark Birch left school at 15 to become apprenticed to Geoffrey Brooke in Newmarket and rode his first winner, Bollin Charlotte, at Chester on July 26, 1968. He subsequently joined Miles Henry ‘Peter’ Easterby
at Habton Grange Stables, near Malton, North Yorkshire, with whom he would enjoy a 30-year association until his retirement from race-riding in 1998.
Of course, Birch won many big races in the North, including the Lincoln Handicap on Bronze Hill in 1973, the Great St. Wilfrid Handicap twice, on Day Two in 1973 and Golden Ancona in 1978, the Northumberland Plate on Dawn Johnny in 1981, the Ayr Gold Cup on Able Albert in 1984 and the November Handicap twice on Swingit Gunner in 1987 and Young Benz in 1988.
However, he is best remembered for his association with the prolific, and versatile, Sea Pigeon, on whom he won back-to-back renewals of the Chester Cup in 1977 and 1978. Of course, the following year, Sea Pigeon would carry a record 10st 0lb to victory in the Ebor Handicap at York, but under his regular hurdles jockey, Jonjo O’Neill, rather than Birch. Nevertheless, in 1981, deputising for Brian Taylor, who could not make the required weight of 8st 1lb, Birch, too, would win the Ebor Handicap on Protection Racket, trained by Jeremy Hindley.
Affectionately nicknamed ‘Archie’, Birch was one of one of the most successful and popular Flat jockeys of his generation in the North of England, with 1,339 winners and seven the traditional ‘Cock O’ The North’ titles to his name. He enjoyed his most successful season, numerically, in 1979, when he rode 77 winners. Six of those victories, including the Gimcrack Stakes at York, were contributed by the champion Northern two-year-old, Sonnen Gold, trained by Easterby. After hanging up his boots, he became assistant trainer to Kevin Ryan at Hambleton Lodge, near Thirsk. He died of lung cancer, aged 67, on October 19, 2016.
