Since 2007, Steve Smith Eccles has been a jockey coach at the British Racing School on the outskirts of Newmarket but, in his younger days, was a highly successful National Hunt jockey. “The Ecc”, as he was fondly known, is probably best remembered as the jockey of See You Then, trained by Nicky Henderson, who won the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival three years running in 1985, 1986, 1987. An impressive achievement to say the least. However, Smith Eccles rode a total of 861 winners and, following the retirement of John Francome in 1985, occupied the No. 1 peg in the weighing room until hanging up his riding boots in 1994.
Despite his aristocratic name, Smith Eccles is the son of a Derbyshire coal miner and was born into a family with no previous horse racing connections. Apparently, Eccles was the surname of his grandfather, an orphan, who added the Smith in honour of the family that brought him up. His first job, with Harry Thomson Jones in Newmarket, was the result of a speculative letter by his father. Some years later, he had the distinction of riding legendary steeplechaser Tingle Creek to win at Sandown, breaking the course record in the process.
During his riding career, Smith Eccles developed, probably quite justifiably, a reputation for hedonism. Interviewed towards the end of his career, in 1993, he said, “OK, I’ll be known for my cavalier attitude to life, but I would like to be remembered for my riding ability and the winners I’ve ridden rather than my character.”
UK horse racing is of course never short of a character or two, and punters love that trait when combined with a winning attitude because ultimately it’s all about putting pounds in your pocket, finding the best odds to chance and making good at the big events, such as Eccles performances at the aforementioned Cheltenham Festival. Such an impressive and consistent performance three years running in the Champions Hurdle no doubt saw some punters cash it. It’s certainly not the first time following a jockey has resulted in good fortune for those following their rides either. Who can forget Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven?
