Bob Skelton’s early riding days recalled
Melbourne Cup winning jockey Bob Skelton will be in the thoughts of many on Wednesday when his funeral is held in Mornington, Victoria.
Orari galloping trainer Graham Dobbs and his wife Noeline were close friends of Skelton, who died in Melbourne on Friday. He was 81.
Noeline Dobbs’ late father, Lionel Pratt, was an Orari trainer and employed Skelton and his brother Bill as apprentices. They worked for Pratt for nearly eight years in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
‘‘Dad was very proud of them,’’ Noeline Dobbs said.
She will never forget the 1952-53 season when Pratt and the Skeltons won three New Zealand premierships. Pratt (35 wins) was top trainer, Bill Skelton (64 wins) took out the leading jockey’s title and Bob Skelton (32 wins) was top apprentice.
‘‘Three from the same stable doing that, it’ll never be done again,’’ Dobbs said.
She pointed out several factors that made it a remarkable achievement.
‘‘Back in those days, there were only seven races [on a race day] and one race meeting a week.’’ The Skeltons were 13 or 14 when they moved from the West Coast to work for Pratt.
‘‘They finished the last 12 months of their schooling at Orari,’’ said Dobbs, who has known the brothers for 70 years. Bill Skelton now lives in Levin.
The last time she saw Bob Skelton was a year ago when he was visiting family and friends in the South Island.
‘‘He’d never go past Orari without calling in ... if he needed a bed, he’d stay the night.’’
Skelton retired from race riding in 1988 with a win tally of 2192. His 20 wins in 3200m races is the most by a New Zealand or Australian jockey.
He achieved a Wellington Cup hat-trick in the early 1960s on the mighty stayer Great Sensation, two Auckland Cups and two Perth Cups but his ultimate victory came in the 1976 Melbourne Cup on tough Kiwi stayer Van Der Hum.
He was also associated with the champion southern race mare Show Gate and the Washdyke Wonder, Grey Way.
He also rode three New Zealand Cup winners at Riccarton.