The great jockeys of Australian horse racing history have one experience in common: during their careers, they all had the benefit of teaming up with one extraordinary thoroughbred who not only contributed to their win records, but also earned them quality rides that further added to their accomplishments.
At most, however, such a thoroughbred lasts several years, where the great jockeys' careers span multiple decades.
One fitting example of this claim, perhaps the most apt of all, would be described in any examination that focused on a hoop known as Athol George Mulley. He contributed the better part of 40 years of his life to the Australian turf, contributing all along the way, but he is best remembered for one remarkable time span between December 1945 and October 1946.
During that time he had the good fortune to sit astride one of the literal and figurative giants of all time, Bernborough. Together, Mulley and Bernborough reeled off 15 consecutive victories, in the process besting quality competitors such as Neville Sellwood and George Moore and Phar Lap. The partnership came to an unceremonious conclusion when the pair failed to place in the 1946 Caulfield Cup. Even though Bernborough by this time had developed a reputation sufficient to result in his being allotted a huge weight, and still managed to run a close fifth, Mulley was replaced by Billy Briscoe.
Bernborough's credentials are unassailable, so much so that he was granted induction into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame with the inaugural group of horses that included Phar Lap, Carbine, Tulloch and Kingston Town. Mulley himself was to say of Bernborough, "He's a freak. Once he starts to wind up nothing can stop him." One of Phar Lap's strappers, Tommy Woodcock, said, "A great horse. A bulldog in a finish and too brilliant for Phar Lap in a sprint."
Mulley, too, has accomplishments that will substantiate any claim of his inclusion amongst Australia's great jockeys.
Perhaps most noteworthy of these are the two Sydney Jockeys' Premierships. He won it in the 1945/46 season, where he bested his nearest competitor by 15 wins, and again in 1960/61, which is remarkable for the longevity it represents.
He is also tied for second all-time winning-est jockey of the Golden Slipper Stakes. The first of these came in 1958 aboard Skyline, the next in 1960 astride Sky High and the final in 1964 aboard Eskimo Prince.
As is often the case with many professional athletes, jockeys being no exception, Mulley had a superstitious streak. He was known to wear an old singlet for luck beneath his racing colours and he always insisted on being the last to exit the jockeys' room before a race.
On the track, Mulley was known for riding with abandon, to the extent that journo Max Presnell said of him, "Mulley was a hair raiser, which beats some stereotype, programmed like a robot," speaking of less flamboyant jockeys.
He also was not above trying to gain a psychological edge and get into the heads of his fellow competitors. He frequently attempted to employ this technique on George Moore, perhaps his most bitter rival, to varying degrees of success. While he may have impeded Moore on one or more occasions, it may have backfired on others, with Roy Higgins maintaining that George Moore rode better when he was irritated.
When the verbal jousting was not sufficient to rattle Moore, Mulley was not above getting physical.
At a race meeting at Canterbury in 1967, shortly after Moore had returned from an overseas riding stint, along with bumping Moore and his mount during one of the events on the card, the Frank Underwood Stakes, Mulley tried to get under Moore's skin further by usurping Moore's locker in the jockeys' room.
The two had exchanged verbal hostilities earlier in the mounting yard which escalated to a fistfight when Moore discovered Mulley's equipment in his locker. According to Moore, Mulley had, "Queried my breeding," and uttered some derogatory remarks, "That were uncalled for in a room, particularly in front of little boys." According to one witness, Mulley was on the receiving end of a minimum of six punches from Moore, and both riders ended up being fined $200 for their lack of decorum.
Mulley had one famous run-in with the Flemington stewards. He was aboard 1956 Australian Cup favorite Cambridge when that horse failed to place. An investigation eventually resulted in Mulley being warned off, a ban that was lifted several months later.
He narrowly avoided another confrontation in that same race in 1961, when claiming illness, he gave up the ride on Dream King, who took the post at 33/1 odds and won by five lengths after running unplaced in his previous 10 events. Melbourne rails bookmaker Thomas Marney and Hollywood George Edser were some of the persons of interest on that occasion.
After 25 years in the saddle, Mulley spent the next 15 years as a trainer.
He died 12 March 2001 from Parkinson's disease.
The Athol Mulley trophy is named in his honour and is presented annually to the apprentice jockey who rides the most winners in a racing season at Royal Randwick.
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