February 5, 2021: Another chance to read Laura King’s article from last October about Grand National-winning jockey and international racing pioneer Pat Buckley, who has died at the aged of 77.
The word legend is overused, but few in the UAE’s small racing community would disagree with that term being applied to Pat Buckley, a man who has been at its centre for 30 years. When a serious illness saw him hospitalised earlier this year, it seemed possible that his tenure as one of the industry’s best-loved figures might be coming to an end.
Thankfully, he bounced back – overcoming the odds – just as he did when partnering Ayala to a shock 66/1 victory in the 1963 Grand National, when Buckley was aged just 19. That’s the first part of a career that has included more than most. He’s been a jockey, trainer, steward, racecourse manager and commentator, and he played a huge part in the establishment of racing in both the UAE and Oman. Even just one of those stories would be enough to fill a book.
“The person who was most worried was myself,” he says with a small chuckle, although one suspects his wife of two years, Sarah, might disagree with that statement. “I went in with what I thought was bad indigestion, and the next thing I knew, they were operating on me.
“In total, I spent two whole months in hospital, without even being able to get out of bed. It’s been better since I’ve been home, but, being so old, I wasn’t even allowed in the shopping malls [due to the UAE’s shielding programme of over 60s] and it’s too hot to go outside.”
Now very much on the mend and several stones lighter – “I’m not even drinking at the moment” – Buckley spent part of his time in hospital “trying to charm the nurses” by showing them his famous victory on YouTube (see below). Understandably, it’s what he’s most proud of, and he was part of a great team. Ayala was trained by Keith Piggott, father of Lester, and co-owned by him and Raymond Bessone, better known as ‘Teasy-Weasy’, the famous hairdresser.
“The year before, I’d been second favourite for my first ride in the race, and I fell at the first, so the year I won it, there wasn’t much expectation on me, although the owner and trainer did tell me when I was at the start that there was a million pounds on me.”
Wait, what? A million?
“At that point, it wouldn’t have mattered what was on me; you just go out and do it. They told me to stay close to the pace and, most importantly, to keep going.”
The victory made Buckley an overnight hero, although he does have some regrets.
“I don’t think I really made the most of it,” he says. “There was a party going on at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool, but I was back in my lodgings in Middleham probably by 7 pm, as I didn’t drink back then. It sunk in later that I’d won the Grand National, which is something I’d dreamed about from when I was a little boy. It’s something no-one can ever take away from me.
“Then later that season I won the Whitbread Gold Cup at Sandown [on Hoodwinked for trainer Neville Crump], which was bigger than the Cheltenham Gold Cup or anything else at that time.”
In Buckley’s Grand National, all 47 runners and riders returned home without injury, and jockey safety is something that remains at the forefront of his mind. During his own riding career, he was never bed-bound for as long as for this recent illness. “No, never anything that bad,” he says. “I broke one collarbone five times, and the other six, so 11 in total, but only one concussion, so that was lucky.”
He’s far from a died-in-the-wool ‘things were better in the good old days’ kind of man. “In general, I think the standard of racing has improved immeasurably, but some of the stewarding could be better, although I do sympathise with stewards as I acted as one for many years.
“I think the rules should be like they are in France, where the offender is placed behind the horse they interfered with. That seems fair for all, because if they’re getting done for interference, then they’ve broken the rules, haven’t they?
“But I do sympathise with stewards, as what do you do when you know the jockey and he winks at you? They have a very hard job.”
Buckley is a racing addict, watching 40 or 50 races a day from his Abu Dhabi apartment. His stance on the Covid regulations, however, is surprising.
“They were three locked-down counties in Ireland the other day, including Kildare, yet they were racing at the Curragh. I know it’s behind closed doors, but the runners are coming from all over Ireland. I think it’s madness and I don’t know how they can allow it.”
Buckley’s family is very much a racing one. His brother, Seamus, was Clerk Of The Course at Goodwood for 23 years, while another brother, Willie, was a member of the Irish Horseracing Board’s security team until his death in 2019 while on duty at Dundalk. Pat’s son, Kevin, is also well-known in the industry as the UK face of Coolmore, for whom he’s worked for more than 40 years.
“Kevin is brilliant,” says his dad. “He knows the pedigrees of absolutely everything, without looking them up. He’s devoted his life to racing, but he was never really into riding. When he was younger, people said ‘oh, he’ll be a jockey, like his dad,’ but he tried a couple of times and I said, “you look like Grandma … on the loo,” so he stopped after that. His sister, Helen, was more into ponies and showjumping and Kevin would help to look after them.”
Buckley has been in the Middle East for more than three decades, initially moving to the region with his late wife, Joyce, in the 1980s. After helping to set up racing in Oman, he moved to Abu Dhabi, where he was charged with starting the industry there. He oversaw the first official meeting, in 1991, and played an integral part in the formation of the Dubai World Cup.
“The year before the World Cup, there was an international jockeys’ challenge, won by Gary Stevens, if I remember rightly. I happened to be standing next to HH Sheikh Mohammed, and he turned to me and said, ‘Next year it will be horses.’
“I believe those were the founding words of the first Dubai World Cup.”
Bareback on Dubai Millennium
Buckley’s role as a steward involved bringing in the World Cup winner and making sure they weighed in, something that could get forgotten in the euphoria. He has some good anecdotes, including from the memorable 2000 edition of the race.
“Frankie [Dettori] weighed in after Dubai Millennium and then jumped back on the horse bareback, riding him down the track. I’m not sure many would have done that, on what was probably the best horse in the world, as a million things could have happened, but thankfully he got away with it.”
After a lifetime in racing, latterly as the manager of Abu Dhabi Racecourse, where he can be seen conducting post-race interviews as well as keeping things running smoothly, Buckley concedes that it could now be the time to hang up the mic.
“It depends on what the medical people say,” he says. “Mentally, I want to carry on, but it just depends whether they think I can.”
If he doesn’t he’ll be missed, but few have earned retirement more.