JOSH'S FIRST RIDE

Copyright Valerie Martin 2000

In the 1950s I remember seeing the name of an apprentice jockey, J. Gifford listed on race cards — little did I think in those days that in years to come I would be saying "Good morning" to him while out exercising his string of racehorses on the South Downs and I would be living in Findon.

Joshua Thomas Gifford was born into a farming family at Great Stukeley, near Huntingdon, in 1941. He was encouraged to ride by his father, Tom, a keen point-to-pointer, at an early age. His teaching was to such good effect that, a week before his 11th birthday Josh left home to start a three-year apprenticeship. He became a virtual full-time member of Jockey Club trainer Cliff Beechener's establishment at Denton in Northamptonshire. Here he quickly gathered the rudiments of what was to bring him a highly successful racing career later in life in Findon.

Tuesday was the big day and schoolboy, Josh Gifford's first mount was a horse called Controller over the Rowley Mile on 28th April 1953. It was to be the forerunner of two dozen rides in public before he joined F. L. "Sam" Armstrong at his Newmarket stables. In the 1950s and early 60s, Sam Armstrong encouraged an outstanding array of jockey talent including Wally Swinburn.

Josh duly rode his first Flat winner on Dorsal at Birmingham in 1955. But although making good progress, his increasing weight eventually quashed any thoughts he had of joining the jockeys of the Flat racing elite. In total he rode some four hundred horses on the flat and had about fifty-six winners.

In 1958, Sam Armstrong arranged for his young apprentice to switch to the irascible National Hunt maestro, Captain Ryan Price, at the Downs Stables in Findon. It proved the first hesitant step in joining the village community. In the 1958-59 jumping season, Josh rode a dozen winners, then made tremendous strides and captured the Jockeys' Championship in 1962-63, something he repeated in the seasons of 1963-64, 1966-67 and 1967-68 and as far as the villagers are concerned he has never looked back since.

Continue if you would like to read about Josh Gifford and Red Rum.

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