Graham Bradley was a professional horse racer and a member of the National Hunt Jockey Club. On November 29, 2002 he was banned from the Club for breaking six of its rules. [1]
Throughout his career, Bradley had many horseracing wins [2] including: riding Bregawn – Michael Dickinson’s Cheltenham Gold Cup (1983) winner, [3] the Champion Hurdle on Collier Bay (1996) [4] and the Hennessy Gold Cup (1997). [5]
Following his ban from the Club, Bradley set out to become a horseracing trainer, but he abandoned this plan in 2015. [6]
Since his retirement in 1999 [7] Bradley has purchased a few champion horses. Seebald won seven races before finishing second in the Irish Independent Arkle Challenge Trophy [8] at the Cheltenham Festival in 2002.
Bradley has received various punishments over the years including:
Throughout the 1990's, an investigation into Bradley's actions occurred due to concerns about race fixing. These events were what led to his retirement. [18] In 2014, Bradley was cleared of charges alleging he was training horses under the name of Brendan Powell. [19] In 2019, Irish authorities allowed Bradley to register as a racehorse owner. [20] Marchons Ensemble came second in his name. [21] Bradley has been referred to as “one of racing’s most controversial characters". [22]
The Wayward Lad was a Ghost-written autobiography on him by Steve Taylor. [23]
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic premise – to identify which of two or more horses is the fastest over a set course or distance – has been mostly unchanged since at least classical antiquity.
Horse racing is the second largest spectator sport in Great Britain, and one of the longest established, with a history dating back many centuries. According to a report by the British Horseracing Authority it generates £3.39 billion total direct and indirect expenditure in the British economy, of which £1.05 billion is from core racing industry expenditure, and the major horse racing events such as Royal Ascot and Cheltenham Festival are important dates in the British and international sporting and society calendar.
The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and both the Rowley Mile and July Course in Newmarket, amongst other horse racing assets such as the National Stud, and the property and land management company, Jockey Club Estates. The registered charity Racing Welfare is also a company limited by guarantee with the Jockey Club being the sole member. As it is governed by Royal Charter, all profits it makes are reinvested back into the sport.
A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual who rode horses in racing. They must be light, typically around a weight of 100–120 lb. (45–55 kg), and physically fit. They are typically self-employed, and are paid a small fee from the horse trainer, whose colors they wear while competing in a race. They also receive a percentage of the horse's winnings. The job has a very high risk of debilitating or life-threatening injuries, not only from racing accidents but also, because of strict weight restrictions, from eating disorders.
National Hunt racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to France, Great Britain and Ireland, that requires horses to jump over fences and ditches.
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlongs, and during its running there are 22 fences to be jumped. The race takes place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Gordon Elliott is a County Meath-based National Hunt racehorse trainer. After riding as an amateur jockey, he took out a trainer's licence in 2006. He was 29 when his first Grand National entry, the 33 to 1 outsider Silver Birch, won the 2007 race. In 2018 and 2019 he won the Grand National with Tiger Roll, ridden by Davy Russell and owned by Gigginstown House Stud, the first horse since Red Rum to win the race twice. In 2018 he also won the Irish Grand National, with General Principle. On two occasions, in 2017 and 2018, he was the top trainer at the Cheltenham Festival.
Nicholas John Henderson is a British racehorse trainer. He has been British jump racing Champion Trainer six times.
François Doumen is a retired French racehorse trainer. He was a winner of the King George VI Chase on five occasions with Nupsala (1987), The Fellow, Algan (1994), First Gold (2000), and the Cheltenham Gold Cup with The Fellow (1994).
Eddie Ahern is an Irish professional jockey, currently banned from racing for ten years by the British Horseracing Authority on charges of corruption. He was champion apprentice in Ireland in 1997.
Davy Russell is an Irish retired National Hunt jockey. He was Irish jump racing Champion Jockey three times, and won the Grand National (twice), the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris.
The National Hunt Challenge Cup is a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain for amateur riders which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles 6 furlongs, and during its running there are twenty-three fences to be jumped. The race is for novice chasers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Jamie Osborne is a Lambourn-based racehorse trainer and former National Hunt jockey.
Mahmood Al Zarooni is an Emirati horse-racing trainer at the Godolphin horse-racing operation along with Saeed bin Suroor. He was born in Dubai, and became trainer on 24 March 2010, before the Dubai World Cup meeting. His first winner was Calming Influence, who won the Godolphin Mile.
The 2014 Cheltenham Gold Cup was the 86th annual running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup horse race and was held at Cheltenham Racecourse on Friday 14 March 2014.
Don Poli is a retired Irish thoroughbred racehorse.
Oisin Murphy is an Irish jockey based in the United Kingdom who competes in flat racing. He has won two British Classics and a number of Group 1 races. He has been British Champion Jockey in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2024.
Rachael Blackmore MBE is an Irish jockey who competes in National Hunt and flat racing. In 2021, she became the first female jockey to win the Grand National in the 182-year history of the race. She also became the first woman to be leading jockey at the Cheltenham Festival with six victories, including the Champion Hurdle, in 2021. The following year she became the first female jockey to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
James John Codd is an Irish jockey. Having won 972 races before retiring from point to points, he has the second highest number of wins in point to point races of any jockey.
Richard Charles Guest is a retired National Hunt jockey.