Dedicated Reddy far more than just one of the lads
Stud and Stable Staff Awards pay deserved tribute to the unsung heroes of British racing,
He has broken collarbones, both knees and had six operations after kicks, bites and falls
It took a while for those at the coalface of racing to buy into the British Horseracing Authority-run Stud and Stable Staff Awards but, 14 years in, it has evolved into one of the sport’s best nights out: singing about the unsung.
Racing is short of “lads” to the tune of more than 400 and Monday’s half-dozen winners, who took home £5,000 for themselves and £5,000 for their yards, and the 265 nominees, were good examples of what you can get out of working with horses.
Some tremendous stories emerged, not least the winner of the David Nicholson Newcomer Award, Adrian Stewart, 29, a lad from Leeds who only discovered racing when a charity visitor suggested it as a possible career while he was in prison. He applied to the Northern Racing College the day he was let out and is now – with a purpose in his life for the first time – an integral part of trainer David Loughnane’s yard. Few awards were more apt, however, than Dedication to Racing, because if you are looking for a definition of not only dedication but also loyalty, it can be summed up in two words: William Reddy.
The minimum requirement for dedication is 15 years’ service so, after 48 years’ working in racing for the Johnson Houghton family, Reddy, 63, is over-qualified to the tune of 33 years. He has been head lad for the last 15 years and prior to that he was travelling head lad for 20 years.
He first arrived at Woodway, their Blewbury yard, aged eight when his father, Bill, went as head lad to the current trainer Eve’s father, Fulke. He started riding out aged 10 while still at school. As his current “Guv’nor” Eve pointed out:
“He has known me longer than I’ve known myself.”
The first horse he was allowed to sit on was a quiet but useless filly called Word From Lundy. For a long time it was his biggest claim to fame: her first foal was the 1975 Derby winner Grundy.
When he started full time, aged 16, it was during the golden era of Fulke’s career. Ribocco, Ribero and Ribofilio were in the yard. As a lad he looked after Ile De Bourbon, the King George and Coronation Cup winner. Rose Bowl, who beat two Arc winners in the 1975 Champion Stakes and won two QEIIS, was another. Hard to keep sound, she was trained out of a swimming pool and it was his job to swim her every day.
Reddy still rides out every day. He used to reckon he was a good jockey but every time they produce his notes at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital the doctors slap a ring-binder three inches thick on the table and start laughing. He has broken four collarbones, both knees, undergone six operations as a result of kicks, bites and falls.
He has endured bad times as well. When the Aga Khan removed all his horses – including 30 from Woodway – from British racing, the yard was down to just 12 horses.
Another time he was called up in the middle of the night to deal with a barn fire which had spread to the stables. He rescued the horses by turning them out into a field.
He has never been busier. When he started, the rough ratio of lads to horses was 35 lads to 60 horses, you “did” your two, rode out two lots and got paid extra for a third. Now each lad does four and rides four.
To the young his motto is “it’s all about the horse”, instilling in them that the best results are achieved through a combination of kindness and respect for the thoroughbred. Would he change anything from those 48 years? “Not a single day,” he says.