Not to be confused with his countryman, and contemporary, Robert Arthur Davies, who also commonly known as ‘Bob’, Robert Bertram Davies has the distinction of being the last Welshman to win the National Hunt Jockeys’ Championship. In fact, Davies first achieved that feat, at least jointly, in 1968/69, when he shared the title with Terry Biddlecombe. He defended his title, winning outright in 1969/70 and did so again in 1971/72 for his third championship in total.
Born on May 14, 1946, Davies rode his first winner, Ellen’s Pleasure, at Newton Abbott in 1966, while still an amateur and in a long, illustrious career added another 911 to his career total. Probably the most famous of them all, though, was Lucius, trained by Gordon W. Richards, whom Davies rode to victory in an eventful renewal of the Grand National in 1978. That victory was all the more remarkable for the fact that, with stable jockey David Goulding sidelined with injury and Ron Barry declining the ride because of previous commitments, Davies effectively picked up a ‘spare’ ride on his way to Aintree immortality. Not that Lucius, a 14/1 chance, was unfancied for the National, but Davies had to be at his strongest to hold off his nearest pursuers, Sebastian V and Drumroan, by half a length and a neck.
