Jimmy Mullane - From Delight to Despair

When posting the Vakil-Ul-Mulk article I realised that the Birmingham race referred to in that post had been won by a jockey named Jimmy Mullane. I knew Jimmy Mullane but only very casually, I remember him coming to ride work a few times and some of the lads in the yard saying “he used to be” a good jockey. He didn’t seem to get many rides, I suppose some might say at that time he was a “chalk jockey” so called because rides were few and far between and consequently when the number board men on the racecourse filled the board for the race there wasn’t a proper permanent one for a jockey like that so they needed to make up a temporary one with the name written in chalk hence the name “chalk jockey”. Then one day, it was a Bank Holiday with plenty of meetings, I had a ride at Warwick… in fact being a Bank Holiday everybody and his dog had a ride that day including me and Jimmy! Jimmy was riding in the same race as me, I think it was his only ride of the day and we were sat together in the weighing room most of the time. We chatted quite a bit and he came across as being a very nice softly spoken chap, a real salt of the earth kinda guy. He never mentioned his past, how many winners he’d rode, if he’d ever won any big races, where he’d been apprenticed or anything like that, it was all just general chat about racing and horses.

So seeing his name as the winning Jockey in that Birmingham race triggered me into running some Google searches to see if I could find out something about his career and I was totally blown away by the successes he had achieved in the 1950’s in Ireland as you can see below he was obviously a top jockey at that time.

Jimmy’s achievements include…

1950 - Irish Champion Apprentice Jockey.

1951 - Irish Champion Jockey.

1951 - The Group 3 Anglesey Stakes on Stackallen Bridge, the Group 1 National Stakes on Blue Butterfly, and the Group 1 Phoenix Park Stakes on Windy City all trained by Paddy Prendergast.

1952 - Irish Champion Jockey.

1952 – The Irish derby on Thirteen of Diamonds, the Irish Oaks on Five Spots, Group 1 Phoenix Park Stakes on Royal Duchy, and the Group 2 Blandford Stakes on Thirteen of Diamonds, again all trained by Paddy Prendergast.

1954 – The Irish 2000 Guineas on Arctic Wind for Paddy Prendergast, and the Group 3 Greenland Stakes on Standing Holly for M. Collins.

1956 – The Group 1 Phoenix Park Stakes on Refined for Paddy Prendergast.

1958 – The Group 3 Gallinule Stakes on Clear Round for John Oxx.

1959 – The Irish Lincoln on Anthony for J M Rogers.

However a few more searches and my delight upon finding how eminent a jockey Jimmy was turned to despair when I came across an article concerning Jimmy – The article dated June the 29th 2003 appeared in The Sunday Mirror and is reproduced below…

Jockey living in tent says he's being taken for a ride; IRISH DERBY WINNER SLEEPING IN FOREST AFTER COUNCIL ROW.

A FORMER champion Irish jockey has been discovered living in a tent in a wood in Britain. In his heyday, Jimmy Mullane, now 68, was one of Ireland's most famous jockeys. He won the Irish Derby three times - including Arctic Wind's triumph in the late 50s - but now he receives £20 a week from the InjuredJockey Fund.

He has been living in the woods near Farnham in Winchester for the past 18 years. Jimmy and his late wife, Anne, had been living in a caravan in the grounds of a convent until 1985, but were towed away by police after nuns got a summons for their removal.

Jimmy said: "We were happy living in our caravan near the convent, “We were doing no harm to anyone. It wasn't until there was a new order of nuns in the convent that we had to move. "The police towed us away - but they had nowhere to put us so we ended up being left in a lay-by beside a road. We didn't have any transport to move the van ourselves so we were stuck."

Jimmy and Ann decided to build themselves a home in the woods, and then the local authority removed their caravan and impounded it as an abandoned vehicle. Jimmy claims all his personal belongs were in the caravan when it was destroyed and he has been locked in a bitter war-of-words with the council ever since. Jimmy said: "They took away my home. They destroyed everything I owned in the world. "All my trophies and my prized possessions were in that van. I won't rest until I am compensated."

Winchester Council spokesman Ian Hogg said: "We don't take away and destroy private property.”There was nothing by way of personal belongings in the caravan when we took it away. We notified Jimmy on several occasions that it would have to be removed but unfortunately he didn't and we had to tow it away."

Jimmy was stuck a further blow in February this year when his wife died after suffering a stroke. They were married for 45 years and were each other's only family. Jimmy said: "I miss her. It's very lonely without her. I still can't believe she's gone." Prior to Ann dying, Winchester Council offered Jimmy several council houses. He has refused to take up their offers. He said: "I won't live in one of their houses until the day they compensate me for my belongings. I have nothing left - not even my wife." Mr Hogg said: "We don't want him to be stuck out there in his tent - but we can't force him into a house."