He was a practical joker. He was one of the most cerebral riders of his time. In 34 years of riding, jockey Greville Starkey, during four English racing seasons, had 100 winners or more. He won every race that is to be won in Europe. Yet, he, never, was once champion jockey in England.

Greville Starkey is no more. The 70 year-old Starkey died last Wednesday of cancer in his home near Newmarket. He rode for celebrated trainers and it is a long list. He was with Sir Henry Cecil. He rode for Sir Michael Stoute. It was with Guy Harwood that Greville Starkey had the most productive partnership. When he called it a day in 1989, Starkey’s reputation was riding high but there was one race in his career, the 1986 Epsom Derby in which his late bid on the strongly fancied Dancing Brave fell short by a neck. That left a stain in his curriculum vitae. It was a stain that would not go away.

The Craven Stakes at Newmarket was a walk in the park for the Guy Harwood-trained Dancing Brave. The 2000 Guineas at Newmarket was next and when the field emerged from the dip, it was Dancing Brave and Starkey who had drawn away from the rest. Then came the Derby at Epsom Downs. Epsom’s contours and peaks and valleys are a challenge to the best of horses and jockeys. At Epsom Downs, there is no margin for error. Starkey held Dancing Brave up and had considerable ground to make up as the leaders raced past the quarter pole. The Aga Khan-owned Shahrastani, Walter Swinburn up, had struck the front. Starkey called on Dancing Brave and the response was nothing short of electrifying. Khalid Abdullah’s colt came up with a scintillating charge but the winning post had come to Shahrastani’s rescue. Dancing Brave was a stride short.

It was a frustrating time for jockey Starkey as the critics began finding fault with every facet of his riding. Starkey kept the mount at Sandown’s Eclipse Stakes. Dancing Brave justified the favouritism. Then came the humiliation. Khalid Abdullah opted for Pat Eddery. In the King George at Ascot, Eddery was in front much sooner than he wanted and he had a difficult time persuading the champion colt to stay focused. The first Sunday came in October. It was Longchamp at Paris and it was the 2400-metre (turf) Arc de Triomphe. Shahrastani was reopposing. It was again Pat Eddery. The King George was a learning experience for Eddery and he’s a quick learner. Dancing Brave was so far back that expectation turned to anxiety. Time was running out as Eddery reminded Dancing Brave of the task ahead. In one of the most remarkable stretch runs in racing history, Dancing Brave passed horse after race and drew clear in the waning yards.

One can understand how the Dancing Brave story episode was a bittersweet part of jockey Starkey’s career. The Dancing Brave had hardly gone off the radar when another incident, the explanation of which has an element of mystery, happened at Royal Ascot in 1988. It was a mile and a half race. Eddery was aboard Ile de Chypre and had the lead a furlong from home. Ile de Chypre was shaping like a winner. All of a sudden, Eddery lost control of his wildly-swerving mount and was unseated. A year had passed and a defendant, in an unrelated matter, claimed that he had used his binoculars as a sonic tool which hit the horse and caused the mishap. Jockey Starkey agreed completely. In 1989, Starkey retired.

Let us take a look at what Starkey accomplished. He won the English and the Irish Derbies with Shirley Heights. He won the Oaks with Fair Salinia. His resume includes the King George VI Stakes, the Ascot Gold Cup and Newmarket’s Champion Stakes. He won the 1975 Arc with Star Appeal, a German horse.

An interesting note or two and these are bits of information that I find worth quoting. Star Appeal was an outsider in the Arc. The story is that jockey Starkey had a (big) lunch in Paris on Arc day before the race and it is something that he did not do on big racedays. As it turned out, Star Appeal was an easy winner.

Here is a story or two about Shirley Heights. In the 1978, Epsom Derby, Hawaiian Sound, with the legendary Bill Shoemaker in the irons, had the race, in the opinion of many a pundit, in safe keeping in the final furlong. Hawaiian Sound was removed from the rail. There was deafening noise. Starkey, realizing that his mount had more to offer, drove inside of Hawaiian Sound. Shirley Heights won by a neck. It is believed that Shoemaker was not aware of a horse coming to his left.

About the incomparable Shoemaker, I had the privilege of saying hello to him at Arlington Park in the late ‘70s, may be early ‘80s. Shoemaker won the Kentucky Derby with Ferdinand and became the oldest jockey to win the Run for the Roses. That is not all. On Gallant Fox, Shoemaker misjudged the winning post at Churchill Downs and was beaten in the Kentucky Derby.

I would like to share this with you all and it is a fact or two about Shirley Heights. Mill Reef was the sire of Shirley Heights. Mill Reef’s partner was Geoff Lewis who made a name for himself in Kolkata. So, the father and the son are Derby champions. Now, here’s how Jacqueline is linked to Shirley Heights. Jacqueline’s mother is Talit Kumi whose daddy is High Estate. Shirley Heights is High Estate’s sire. Therefore, Shirley Heights is Jacqueline’s great grandfather on the mother’s side.

Despite battling weight for the major part of his career, Starkey won five English Classics, big races in Ireland and the Arc in France. He, many alleged, did not show enough courtesy to his owners. His exterior masked his penchant for humour. He could mimic the barking of dogs. A trans-Atlantic flight was held up for a non-existing dog and Starkey was the undetectable barking passenger.

Greville Starkey rode 1989 wins in his career. May be, that’s why he chose to retire in 1989. Sir Stoute paid a compliment: “He was a great judge of horses. His post-race comments were valuable. At the end of the day, he would ring and talk some more and sometimes, revise an earlier opinion.”

Trainer Guy Harwood heaped praise: “I put him in the genius category. He had a terrific feel for horses. He was dedicated, he worked hard and he was a great jockey. He was a trainer’s dream. He was a good judge of every horse he rode.”

“I remember one race. It was the Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot. Olympic Glory was his ride. He came through on the rail and there wasn’t a lick of paint between him and the next horse. That was an amazing performance,” trainer Harwood recalled.