Born on February 28, 1943, Co. Limerick native Ron Barry rode his first winner, Lluvia, on the Flat at Gowran Park in May 1961. However, it was not until three years later, when he joined Wilfred Crawford at Haddington, East Lothian as a conditional jockey, that he began his climb to the top of the National Hunt tree.
In an outstanding career, Barry was Champion National Hunt Jockey twice, in 1972/73 and 1973/74, on the first occasion with a then-record 125 winners. At the time of his retirement, aged 40, in October 1983, he had clocked up 823 winners, the majority of which came for Grand National-winning trainer Gordon W. Richards, with whom spent two spells as stable jockey.
Barry enjoyed the highest-profile of his career in the 1973 Cheltenham Gold Cup, when he rode The Dikler, trained by Fulke Walwyn, to a short-head success over Pendil. He might also have won the 1978 Grand National, but for declining the winning ride on Lucius, trained by Richards, because of previous commitments. Nevertheless, Barry garnered plenty of success elsewhere and, notably, remains the most successful jockey in the history of the Bet365 Gold Cup, previously the Whitbread Gold Cup, which he won three times, on Titus Oates (1971), Charlie Potheen (1973) and The Dikler (1974).
