At the time of his enforced retirement, aged 50, on August 10, 1954, Sir Gordon Richards had ridden 4,870 winners, which was, at the time, a world record. The first jockey ever to be knighted, Richards won the jockeys’ title 26 times between 1925 and 1953 and, in 1947, rode 269 winners, thereby setting a British single-season record, which would stand until 2002, when beaten by the equally indomitable Sir Anthony McCoy.
‘Moppy’, as Richards was popularly known, was a force majeure in British Flat racing for most of his 34-year career in the saddle, but his reign as Champion Jockey was interrupted three times. In his first year as a fully-fledged professional, 1925, Richards rode 118 winners to take his first title but, the following year, contracted tuberculosis and was sidelined for most of the season. In his absence, Thomas ‘Tommy’ Weston, retained rider Edward Stanley, Earl of Derby, became Champion Jockey for the one and only time with 95 winners.
Having recuperated, Richards returned to winning ways, taking the jockeys’ title again in 1927, 1928 and 1929. However, in 1930, following a ding-dong battle with Frederick ‘Freddie’ Fox, narrowly missed out on his fifth title, 129 winners to 128, on the final day of the season. Undeterred, Richards was Champion Jockey for the next ten seasons running and may have remained so until the end of his career, but for breaking his leg six weeks into the 1941 Flat season. Another enforced absence allowed veteran Harry Wragg, a.k.a. ‘The Head Waiter’, to finally emerged from his shadow and take his one and only title with 71 winners. Once again, Richards resumed where he had left off, winning another dozen titles in a row before retiring.
