Greg Childs: Champion Jockey - By: K Cummings

High performance and longevity are two common characteristics required of any jockey for consideration as being amongst the upper echelon of all-time greats. New Zealander Greg Childs supplied those traits in spades, and his inclusion in the select group of elite jockeys to deserve induction into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame should well be considered a foregone conclusion.

On the performance side of the equation, he has produced such arguments as these: over 2100 victories, 72 Group 1 wins, two W. S. Cox Plates, one Caulfield Cup, nine various Oaks wins, six Derby victories, two Victoria Metropolitan Jockeys' Premierships and a Scobie Breasley Medal.

Additionally, he proved himself capable of producing on the worldwide stage, winning in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai and the United States.

The longevity issue can be rested simply by the fact that Greg Childs acquired and maintained his record over the course of a 30 year career.

He began his jockey apprenticeship in 1978 at the age of 16 under Brian Deacon at a Hawara. By the time he took his seventh ride in August of that year, he brought home his first winner astride Stormee. That was backed up with the win of the New Zealand Jockey's Apprenticeship for the 1979 - 80 season.

The next 10 years were spent honing his skills and making his bones on the New Zealand turf, where he won a considerable number of feature races. He also produced five wins in the United States during this time.

Looking to expand his horizons, Childs moved to Melbourne in 1990. He formed associations with trainers Bart Cummings and Tommy Hughes while also doing some preliminary work to establish connections in Hong Kong.

His first significant victory on Australian turf was the 1990 Karrakatta Plate, a Group 1 event at that time put on by Perth Racing, formerly known as the Western Australia Turf Club. He rode Umatilla to victory on that occasion. (For any interested, Umatilla was a North American import that traced his lines to such notable predecessors as Nijinsky , Northern Dancer, Native Dancer {both sides} and Neartic. Umatilla went on to sire 2010 Karrakatta Plate winner Umah).

Riding Romanee Conti for trainer Lorrie Laxon, Childs won the 1993 Hong Kong International Cup. Romanee Conti, by the way, eventually dammed Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup winner Ethereal.

Autumn 1997 saw Childs earning recognition via the Roy Higgins Excellence Award and spring brought the Ron Hutchinson Excellence Award.

A Scobie Breasley medal for his exploits on Melbourne tracks and a Melbourne Jockeys' Premiership were the other highlights of the 1997- 98 season.

1999 produced Group 1 victories in the Newmarket Handicap astride Isca and an Australian Cup aboard Istidaad, both while riding for the late Peter Hayes. Childs also teamed with Adelaide trainer Leon MacDonald to bring home the AJC Derby and the Australian Guineas, both on Gold Guru.

The most remarkable occurrence of 1999, however, one Childs himself would be quick to confirm, was the beginning of his association with one of Australian horse racing history's most successful racemares, Sunline.

The jockey and mare took the 1999 W. S. Cox Plate for starters, and doubled in 2000. That same year, 2000, also produced a Hong Kong International Mile. 2002 brought the pair the Doncaster Handicap. In all, Childs steered Sunline to 21 wins from the 33 starts he had aboard her, including 11 Group 1 victories. He readily credits her with lifting both his profile and his bank account.

For a jockey, success equates to being offered good rides. Good rides lead to more success, which leads to more offers for good rides. Childs played this factor to the hilt, when he earned the privilege of steering Northerly in the spring of 2002. That pairing produced four consecutive wins culminating with the Caulfield Cup, a feat Childs reproduced in 2005, this time aboard Railings.

No jockey, it seems, lives a completely charmed life, and Childs was no exception. He was fined a hefty sum for alleged irregularities by the Hong Kong Jockey Club in 2000 when he reported having a conversation with the hoop for the third-place runner, Adam. Childs, knowing that Adam had no chance against Sunline in the Hong Kong Mile, told Adam hoop Justin Sheehan to follow him. This was interpreted by HKJC as Childs' devising a strategy to affect the outcome. He was fined $HK 300,000 for "engaging in conduct prejudicial to the good reputation of horse racing in Hong Kong." We'll defer to readers' opinions regarding the appropriate description for Hong Kongs horse racing's reputation.

2007 featured a crash at Flemington on Cup day, Tuesday, 6 November. Riding Bling Bling, Childs crashed over the top of Bay Story in the Lavazza Long Black. Bay Story had to be put down. Rider Mark Zahra was seriously injured. Childs received a severe blow to the head, which may have at least partially accounted for his placing 20th in the Cup, despite being aboard the horse he steered to the 2005 Caulfield Cup post, Railings.

That scare may also have contributed to Childs' decision to hang up the silks in 2008. He was heard to say that he had lost the aggressiveness to pursue good rides, a comment not beyond the realm of reality for a jockey with a close call, a wife and two children, and 30 years in the stirrups.

He did go out with a flurry befitting a rider of his mettle, winning four races on the last day of his career.

As we maintained earlier, there is no conceivable reason why Greg Childs will not take his rightful place in the Australian Racing Hall of Fame alongside the likes of Roy Higgins, Mick Dittman and Neville Sellwood, et al. It's only a question of time, and if there's any justice, that time will be brief.

About the Author

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