Book Review

Racing Through my Mind by Aubrey Brabazon

Book Review by "Rising Falcon"

Published by Vota Books Price £18.95

The family of the late Aubrey Brabazon have performed a great service by posthumously publishing his thoughtful autobiography. The range, depth and variety of the black and white photographs alone are outstanding. One, titled Galway circa 1944, vividly illustrates Irish racing characters, relaxed, happy and inebriated.

This book deserves a wider readership outside Ireland than it may receive, because the name Aubrey Brabazon may not strike many chords today.

His whole life was centred on horse racing - at 15 months he attended his first Irish Grand National. He rode his first winner, on the flat, in 1935 and his last, over hurdles at Stratford in 1960.

During his career he rode against Gordon Richards in the English Derby, he won the Irish 2000 Guineas and the Irish Oaks (for the Aga Khan) but is best known for his association with Vincent O'Brien.

Indeed, Dr O'Brien writes a moving forward - "If Aubrey was in contention over the last we were as good as home.. and he would always be kind to his horse". Brabazon was on board many O'Brien trained winners, notably he won three successive Cheltenham Gold Cups on Cottage Rake, between 1948-1950. He also rode Hatton's Grace to two of his three successes in the Champion Hurdle - 1949/1950. For the first time Brabazon reveals that he was "jocked-off" in the 1951 Champion Hurdle because the owner deemed that he had not tried in the Irish Cambridgeshire - the winner of that race being trained by Brabazon's father!

This allegation was false and the owner later apologised. Brabazon revels this without bitterness, and the tone of he book is always good natured. Yet there is a sharp insight into the styles and personalities of rival jockeys, often revealed by an anecdote. For example, controversial Charlie Smirke "swaggered into the parade ring one day to meet Prince Aly (Khan) with a hearty slap on the back and the memorable greeting, "'Allo Aly, 'ow's Pop?". "Only Smirke could get away with that". Pop was the Aga Khan, the world' leading owner as well as spiritual leader of the Ismaili faith!

These were more relaxed times when the authorities tolerated jockeys' liberal lifestyles. Brabazon's friend Tommy Burns, 'The Scotchman' had a reputation as a 'stopping jockey'. Returning to Kildare and finding his train not stopping, he pulled the communication cord and hopped out. "As he disappeared across the track, the well-known racegoer 'Buckets' Maloney put his head out the window and shouted "Tommy, I've seen you stop many a horse, but this is the first time I've seen you stop a train".

Brabazon often sends himself up too. Vincent O'Brien was reluctant to let him ride work, because he would tell everyone the outcome of the work, which might endanger the carefully plotted secretive gambling ploys which enabled the master trainer to survive at this time. Brabazon is also candid enough to admit that he concentrated too much on his work as co-founder of the Curragh Bloodstock Agency so that his riding career suffered. Needless to say, his greatest asset as a bloodstock agent was that he "knew everybody". Always self-deprecating, he admits that his training career was modest, failing to match the heights his father attained.

The author emerges as a modest, not over-ambitious man, but one with a tremendous zest for living and for friendship. He captures the Irish racing scene of his time with vivid enthusiasm. His book is a worthy rival to George Lambton's earlier minor classic 'Men and Horses I have Known'.