‘Bustling Bill’ liked to set the pace
William David Skelton, jockey/ trainer: b September 4, 1931, Cobden, West Coast; m Nella Machi (1955); 2s, 1d: d November 25, 2016, aged 85.
When a young West Coast newspaper delivery boy was asked by a prominent racing man if he wanted to be a jockey, the kid was puzzled.
‘‘What’s a jockey?’’ Bill Skelton, aged 13 and standing at just 4ft 6in, asked.
He knew a fair bit about horses – the local milk cart in the settlement of Cobden, near Greymouth, was pulled by a horse and the nearby mine had pit ponies – but he had never heard about the sport of horse racing.
The racing man, Jack O’Donnell, gave him a quick explanation and said a horse trainer, Lionel Pratt, was after an apprentice.
His father wasn’t keen, but in the end young William David Skelton made his own decision and in February 1945 was loaded into a railway horse box for the trip to Orari, in South Canterbury.
That started an incredible career as a jockey – and not just for him. His four younger brothers, Frank, Bob, Max and Errol, all became jockeys and accomplished in their own right. But it was Bill and Bob, great rivals on the track and good mates off it, who reached champion status.
The funny thing was that their riding styles were so different. ‘‘Bustling Bill’’, or WD, would have his horses in the lead or close to the pace, while ‘‘Sleepy Bob’’ rode a more relaxed race, with a loose rein, often bringing his horses home with a late run. The methods differed; but with Grenville Hughes they were perhaps the best of their generation.
It was a tough apprenticeship at Orari; it was ‘‘sheer hell’ at times, Bill said in his autobiography, The Bill Skelton Story, written with Tony Hilton. But he learned from Pratt the value of discipline and said it was vital to his successful career.
Skelton had his first win at his 30th ride, on Boolamskee in a deadheat at Wingatui in October 1947. He was the first jockey to have 2000 wins in New Zealand and when he retired in 1985, his tally was 2156 winners – a feat only bettered since by Lance O’Sullivan and David Walsh. He also had 23 wins overseas, in Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa and Japan.
He won seven premierships spread across three decades – four in the 1950s, two in the 1960s and one more in the ‘70s – and finished second 10 times.
His best successes were winning the Cox Plate and Victoria Derby in Melbourne on the crack colt Daryl’s Joy. His favourite horse was Lucky Son, on whom he won the 1965 Auckland Cup. He had numerous big-race successes, including the 1968 Wellington Cup on Loofah and two New Zealand Cups, on Foglia d’Oro in 1959 and Noir Filou in 1968.
The win on Foglia d’Oro was a special one because of the mare’s family connection. Lionel Pratt’s brother Fred trained the mare. Fred had fallen in love with an Italian widow, Maria, when he was serving in World War II and brought her and her daughter Nella back to New Zealand. Fred and Maria married in 1946. Bill and Nella met on her 12th birthday and over the years the attraction between them grew.
‘‘At the beginning he used to give me a smile or two, but three or four years later he had a different look in his eyes,’’ Nella said at his funeral in Levin last week.
They married in 1955 and theirs was an enduring love story – and he attributed his success to her ‘‘total dedication’’ to his career. The mother to their three children, she was his sounding board and jockeys’ agent. The regard and affection were mutual. ‘‘No wife could ask for more. You were a real champion,’’ she said.
The Skeltons had moved to Levin in 1964 as Bill sought to stamp his mark on North Island racing, something he did with resounding acclaim.
The success never went to his head – some of the best in the game have paid tribute to his warm nature and his willingness to give helpful advice to youngsters new to the game.
One of Skelton’s proudest moments in racing was when elder son David rode his first winner at his first attempt. Later, David’s daughter Amy did the same.
After retiring from the saddle, Skelton took up training, but this came to an abrupt end in 1994 when he had a stroke, halting his speech and mobility.
However, he was still a regular racegoer and enjoyed his successes as an owner.
Skelton died ust three months after his brother Bob’s death in Melbourne.
The day after his funeral, Nella and family travelled to Trentham for a race named in his honour. Fittingly, the winning jockey on Five to Midnight was Darryl Bradley, who not only rode against Skelton on the track, but for him when he was training and later when he was an owner.
Bill Skelton, an inductee in both the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame and the NZ Racing Hall of Fame, was made a member of the Order of the British Empire in 1980.
By Greg Tourelle, with Adam Poulopoulos
Skelton was the first jockey to have 2000 wins in New Zealand.