#BettingPeople: STEVE SMITH ECCLES

Interview: STEVE SMITH ECCLES Steve Smith Eccles – that last of the ‘cavalier’ jump jockeys who played as hard they worked. Probably most famous for winning the Champion Hurdle three times on the trot on Nicky Henderson’s See You Then, the son of a Derbyshire miner was also in the headlines for his ‘extracurricular’ activities. In this four part interview Steve talks us through his career, from being shown down a pit by his dad, arriving at a Newmarket racing yard aged just 15, riding Tingle Creek to victory, Cheltenham glory and shenanigans aplenty, hilarious and outrageously related. Meeting Steve Smith Eccles.

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STEVE SMITH ECCLES (part 1 of 4)

Steve Smith Eccles was ‘The Last of the Cavaliers’ dying breed of the work hard, play hard(er) jump jockeys of the 1980’s. The son of a miner brought up in a pit village arrived in Newmarket aged just 15 determined to become a jockey. He achieved that goal in some style winning the Champion Hurdle three times in a row on Nicky Henderson’s See You Then, that despite taking a swing at the trainer in his younger days. Steve Smith Eccles’ lived life to the full and has some colourful, sometimes X rated, stories to tell and tell them he does, in four parts.

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STEVE SMITH ECCLES (part 2 of 4)

Steve goes on to tell how a horse pulling back at just the right time stopped him chinning a trainer and possibly saved his career and concludes with an X-rated tale featuring a host of top jocks and John Francome.

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STEVE SMITH ECCLES (part 3 of 4)

In part 3 Steve talks about riding in Pyatigorsk Russia, Terry Ramsden and a cunning ruse to stop a certainty in a seller being sold.

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STEVE SMITH ECCLES (part 4 of 4)

In the fourth and final part of his interview, Steve Smith Eccles talks about get poleaxed by a handbag in Torquay, Lady Jockeys, the ‘Young Driver’ incident before the Grand National, the perils of a jump jockey’s career and any regrets…

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STEVE SMITH ECCLES #BettingPeople PODCAST

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