I WAS asked to ride a mare Ramelton by my brother-in-law, Waring Willis, at Dundalk in a bumper. I had ridden her a lot in home work and got on well with her, as she was quite headstrong.

On the way to the start somebody, almost out of control, came up behind me fast and we got going faster and faster to the start which was down a short leg off the racecourse proper with a river at the end.

At the speed we were going, we were going to be in the river, so I steered us to the main track and at a steeplechase fence in the wrong direction.

Breakneck speed

As we got closer, we accelerated again and I avoided the fence as I think she would have tried to jump it!

We continued at breakneck speed all the way around, past the winning post in the wrong direction and passed the stands towards the start for the second time.

Meanwhile, the other jockeys had lined up at the start and thankfully she ran in amongst them and pulled up.

We were the hot favourite, so I started in the race as she felt fine, but only went about a mile when she pulled up from exhaustion.

I got terrible criticism afterwards for not pulling out of the race as the owners had had their money on and lost it. I could not see any reason to pull out really to this day.

After the race we were on our way to the car park, when I met John Bryce-Smith who did not know about what happened in the runaway.

I started telling him about my runaway speed past the stands.

He said: “I was just coming out of the bar and I saw you flying past. I said to my friends ‘Oh, there’s Harry going down very late to the start and he’s certainly making up for lost time!’”

Easter Hill takes off like a jet for a comfortable Leopardstown success

EASTER Hill came as a present from Willie Stepheson who trained in the north of England. We bought another horse from him and he threw her in for luck.

I had a few good bumper horses at the time and I was riding another one of my own at Leopardstown, so I got Dermot Weld to ride Easter Hill (not very fancied as Bunny Cox had the hot favourite for the race).

It proves that trainers only see their own horse because as they passed the winning post Bunny said: “Damn, just beaten.”

Then he remembered my sister standing beside him and he said politely: “Oh, how did you do?” My sister replied,: “I just won.”

Easter Hill was then in the big winners’ bumper at the Christmas Leopardstown meeting.

Difficult mare

Easter Hill had got more difficult just before Christmas and was not very willing and it was hard to get her to try. She also hated to be brushed or touched along her sides.

In a home gallop, I was riding her and galloping up the final hill and she would do nothing for me. I had an old riding stick with me at the time and the centre wire was sticking out, but in the end, out of frustration, I gave her a poke behind the saddle and the effect was electric. She just shot forward and won the gallop easily. I kept my secret and didn’t try it again.

We went to Leopardstown after Christmas and I jumped off near the front of the field. We went down the back straight at Leopardstown and the field all closed up.

I was kicking and pushing as hard as I could and making no progress, and as we turned towards the straight, the six main contenders went past very easily.

I kept on pushing and shoving until the furlong pole, saying to myself “wait” and I was sixth or seventh.

I then released my secret weapon and reversed my good racing stick and stuck the big knob end on the top of the stick behind the saddle.

The mare took off like a jet over the last furlong and won comfortably.

Nobody knew what had happened, but we surprised a lot of people.