Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Harry White dies, aged 78
Racing is mourning the passing of four-time Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Harry White but his greatest legacy was helping his former colleagues who had fallen on hard times.
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Gilbert Gardiner and Glenn McFarlane
Four Melbourne Cups put Harry White on a racing pedestal but the fiercely private Hall of Fame hoop’s greatest legacy was helping his former colleagues who had fallen on hard times.
Australian racing is in mourning on Cox Plate day after the passing of White, aged 78, after a long fight with multiple sclerosis.
White won the Melbourne Cup on Think Big (1974-75), Arwon (1978) and Hyperno (1979), joining Bobbie Lewis as the most successful jockey in the race’s history.
He won four Melbourne jockeys’ premierships and was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2003.
READ: HARRY WHITE WAS A TRUE GENTLEMAN
After retiring from riding following a glittering career in 1995, “Cotton Hands” White dedicated his latter years to funding the Harry White Trust Fund.
Footy great and White’s best mate Peter “Crackers” Keenan revealed the legendary jockey donated $500,000 of his own money to kickstart the trust.
The fund continues to support Australian jockeys in need, deliberately without fanfare.
“He gave them half a million dollars, that’s what he put in,” Keenan told News Corp.
“We call it the Harry White Trust Fund. We take requests from (past) jockeys and then we will allocate $40,000 to $50,000 every year.”
Former jockey John Didham – son of Midge who rode for many years with White in a golden era – said the equal Cup record-holder wanted to give back to his peers.
“He wanted to help other riders, it is a dangerous sport and things happen, people end up sometimes getting smashed to bits or dying,” Didham said.
“He was mindful of that, he was of the opinion racing had been good to him and if he could help some people from time to time, then he’d help them out.
“It was done through the National Jockeys’ Trust, he liked to be a bit anonymous, he didn’t want anyone really I suppose knowing a lot about it. He was pretty private about it.
“He was financially in a position where he had some money, his thoughts were racing had been really good for him and he’d give some back to people if things happened, falls or something of that nature, older jockeys who might need whatever, he had funds there to help.
“He wanted to be private, quiet, not really out in the public eye, a bit of a recluse.
“He just quietly went about his work, he was never an up and about person in the jockeys room, he just went about his own thing, obviously it worked well for him.”
Three-time Melbourne Cup-winner Damien Oliver paid tribute to White.
“Harry was someone I admired as a young jockey coming through the ranks, just a beautiful rider,” Oliver said.
“He was a real horseman, cool as a cucumber … he was very quiet in the jockeys’ room but a fierce competitor.”
Oliver and Kerrin McEvoy, both three-time Cup winners, will get another chance to equal White and Lewis this year.
Oliver is riding Caulfield Cup winner Durston on the first Tuesday in November while McEvoy will pilot the favourite Deauville Legend.
Jockeys at Saturday’s Cox Plate meeting wore black armbands in honour of White.
Keenan met White in 1975 when he was doing some strapping for Bart Cummings while playing football for Melbourne.
He had the “biggest collect” of his life when White convinced him that Think Big could handle the wet track ahead of the 1975 Cup.
The horse – who lived out the rest of his day on White’s Gisborne property – won a second successive Melbourne Cup at the juicy odds of 33/1.
“He was a superstar, we had a great bond for almost 50 years,” Keenan said of his mate.
When White’s wife Lauris became ill, she made Keenan promise he would help to look after her husband’s welfare.
Every Thursday or Friday for almost a decade Keenan would take “half a kilo of prawns, half a dozen oysters and two pieces of salmon.”
He saw White for the last time on Tuesday and spoke to him late in the week.
Didham lauded White’s sense of timing in the saddle.
“His best attribute was his judgment of pace, that’s why he ended up winning four Melbourne Cups,” Didham said.
“Four Melbourne Cups is unbelievable really, there’s only two blokes that have done it in the history of racing.”
Victorian Jockeys’ Association boss Matt Hyland said: “Harry White defined all the qualities of a champion jockey … while his achievements in the saddle will be revered forever, it was out of the saddle and during his years in retirement that Harry again showed he was a man of truly beautiful qualities.
“He was a caring, compassionate, thoughtful, humble and generous man who was consistently and quietly supportive of many jockeys who had fallen on challenging times.
“Harry will be deeply missed but his legacy will be remembered forever as a truly iconic figure in Australian horse racing.”
Sad to hear of the passing of champion jockey Harry White .. a great reason to recap the mighty Rubitonâs prowess on this Cox Plate morning! â¤ï¸ððâï¸ https://t.co/Fvq3MZEEHK
— Caroline (@CaroSearcc) October 21, 2022
It is with great sadness that the Victoria Racing Club advises that four-time Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Harry White has passed away. https://t.co/CutNOCsUGnpic.twitter.com/0ZN4LsB93u
— Victoria Racing Club (@FlemingtonVRC) October 21, 2022
July 4, 1959, tiny 15yo apprentice HARRY WHITE steers home ALPINO (for his master Tony Lopes) in the last race of the day, the Braybrook Hcp (8f) at Flemington.
— Form Focus (@FormFocusHQ) October 21, 2022
The horse was 100/1.
It was Harryâs first race ride. pic.twitter.com/Un0uf5MSrT
RIP HARRY WHITE
— Form Focus (@FormFocusHQ) October 21, 2022
51 G1 winners (plus 23 that have been upgraded)
4 Melbourne Cups (Think Big 1974/75, Arwon 1978, Hyperno 1979), joint record-holder with Bobby Lewis
1987 Cox Plate (Rubiton), 1977 Caul Cup (Ming Dynasty), etc, etc.
Simply, one of Australiaâs greatest ever jockeys. pic.twitter.com/0P54lQJiZI
HARRY WHITE
Born: 1944
Died: 21/10/2022
Age: 78
First race: July 4, 1959 won aboard 100-1 chance Alpino for his master Tony Lopes
Retired: 1995
Career wins: 2112
Group 1s: 59 (plus 23 upgraded since)
Biggest wins: Melbourne Cup (Think Big, 1974-75; Arwon, 1978; and Hyperno, 1979), Caulfield Cup (Sobar, 1972 and Ming Dynasty, 1977), Cox Plate (Rubiton, 1987)
Originally published as Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Harry White dies, aged 78