CAPTAIN Christy first caught the eye when fifth in the Lloyds Bank (Stayers’) Hurdle at Cheltenham in March 1972, wearing the ‘straw, black cap’ of his owner/trainer Major Joe Pidcock, who had served in WWII with the Royal Army Service Corps in Italy. He may have been a good soldier, but Joe was an indifferent rider, and at the age of 62, he was unable to offer much assistance in the saddle, a fact noted by some good judges.

Prior to Cheltenham, Captain Christy had won a maiden hurdle at Baldoyle, but he also ran out under his corinthian rider at Limerick, taking another four horses with him. Pidcock, realising he was overmatched, decided to sell, and so it was that Captain Christy joined Pat Taaffe for the 1972/73 season sporting the silks of Jane Samuel.

He was an immediate success, winning four times, and beating Comedy Of Errors and Bula – winners of four Champion Hurdles between them – in the Sweeps Hurdle at Leopardstown. He split that pair when third at Cheltenham, and ended his campaign by smashing the course record in the Scottish Champion Hurdle, where he turned the tables on Champion runner-up Easby Abbey on 11lb worse terms.

Both his big wins came under Bobby Beasley, adding another layer to a remarkable story. Beasley had been the outstanding jumps jockey of the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, and his win aboard Roddy Owen in the 1959 Gold Cup saw Danny Morgan become the first man to both ride and train a winner of the Cheltenham contest.

Beasley, whose grandfather Harry was one of four brothers to ride in the 1879 Grand National, won that race on Come Away (who he also trained) in 1891, and was still riding winners over fences at the age of 65. He rode his final winner at Baldoyle in 1935 when well into his 80s, and both of his sons, Harry and Rufus, went on to ride classic winners in England, the former taking the 1929 2000 Guineas on Mr Jinks for Atty Persse, and the latter successful in the St Leger seven years later on Boswell for Cecil Boyd-Rochfort. Although success came easily to Bobby Beasley, fame did not, and retirement was forced in 1969 after a torrid descent into alcoholism had robbed him of his marriage and his dignity, if not his talent.

A return to Ireland, where he witnessed his friend Nicky Rackard going through the same agonies, gave Beasley the kick he needed to face up to his addiction, and eventually return to the saddle. Norwegian Flag gave him his comeback winner at Leopardstown in February 1971, and Captain Christy’s pillar-to-post win in the Sweeps Hurdle cemented his unlikely return to the top.

The fairytale didn’t end there, however, and Captain Christy was aimed at the Gold Cup in 1974 when still a novice. Built more like a hurdler than a chaser, he was a brave man’s ride over fences, and Beasley’s described his chase debut at Clonmel as “One of the most exciting rides of my life, if you like that sort of thing!”. He was very fast when meeting his fences right, but had a habit of getting very low, with predictable results.

He unseated when trying to match strides with Bula at Ascot, and also failed to compete in the Wills Premier Chase Final at Haydock, the penultimate fence again proving his undoing, although he would have won by a big margin had he not fallen.

Two more wins preceded a bold bid for Cheltenham glory, but English racegoers had seen him twice and witnessed his jumping frailties each time, so gave him little chance against Pendil and The Dikler, who had beaten Fred Winter’s star in the 1973 Gold Cup.

In the race, Beasley and Taaffe decided to hold Captain Christy up, leaving first Charlie Potheen and then the erratic High Ken to cut out the running, with dramatic results. High Ken hit the third-last fence hard and turned over.

Richard Pitman on Pendil found himself hemmed in by Ron Barry’s move on The Dikler, and was unable to exit the faller’s slipstream as he’d been doing up to that point. As a result, the favourite was scythed down by High Ken’s flailing legs, leaving The Dikler in front from Captain Christy and Game Spirit, who was providing Terry Biddlecombe with his final ride.

Ploughed through

Beasley and his mount hit the front between the last two fences, and victory looked assured, but Captain Christy, who had jumped like an old hand throughout the contest, lost concentration in front, and although his rider saw a stride at the last, the horse didn’t, and ploughed through the birch.

Nodding badly on landing and losing all impetus, Captain Christy looked sure to lose his rider, but the wily Beasley sat tight just as Pat Taaffe had on Arkle almost two decades earlier when the great horse had suffered a similar lapse.

Although the lead had been lost, horse and jockey recovered quickly, and soon swept past the one-paced The Dikler to win by five lengths. Despite the defeat of the hot favourite, the reception afforded to the winner was full-throated.

Captain Christy followed his greatest success by falling in the Irish Grand National, and Beasley recalls that when turned out the following day in the Power Gold Cup, the pair were booed and jeered by elements in the Fairyhouse crowd before winning with ease.

The veteran jockey’s cynicism was further fuelled by the owner’s withdrawal of a £1,000 retainer to ride Captain Christy in the 1974/75 season, and he decided to retire permanently.

Captain Christy went on to frustrate and thrill in equal measure, and he silenced his doubters by beating Pendil in the 1974 King George at Kempton. In the same race in 1975 he slammed Bula by 30 lengths; that was his finest performance, but he’s rightly remembered as the tearaway who restored a great rider’s self-respect, and forged the greatest redemption story in the history of National Hunt racing.