Noel Harris

Last updated

Noel Harris
Occupation Jockey
Born New Zealand
Significant horses
Castletown, Kingdom Bay, Poetic Prince

Noel Harris, also known as "Harry" or "NGH", is a former jockey in Thoroughbred racing in New Zealand. [1] He is notable for having ridden 2,167 raceday winners in New Zealand which is the fourth highest total behind Chris Johnson, David Walsh and Lance O'Sullivan [2] and he has won the jockeys' premiership in both New Zealand and Singapore.

Contents

In 2018 Harris was inducted into the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame.

Riding career

Noel Harris was apprenticed at Woodville to his father, John William (Jock) Harris who was a leading jockey both on the flat and over jumps before becoming a horse trainer. Noel rode his first winner at Foxton on 16 May 1970 and took out the 1971–72 apprentice jockeys' premiership at 18-years-old before sharing the national jockeys' premiership with David Peake the following year. [3]

Harris achieved 34 Group One wins, including almost all of the major races, in New Zealand. [4]

Amongst his total is:

With eight 3200 metre cup wins in New Zealand, Harris shares the record with Bob Skelton.

As an 18 year old Noel rode the Jock Harris-trained Glengowan to a close second behind Gala Supreme in the 1973 Melbourne Cup. 34 years later he rode Princess Coup in the 2007 Cup. [5] His other rides on the first Tuesday in November included Kiwi's 4th placing in the 1986 Melbourne Cup and Castletown's 3rd in 1992.

His biography Harry, The Ride Of My Life by Wally O'Hearn was released in August 2012.

Noel retired in 2015 and became a National Riding mentor for apprentice jockeys.

Family

Noel's two oldest siblings, John and Des, were leading apprentice jockeys. Noel's three other siblings Peter, Karen and Jenny, were also jockeys. [6]

John, Des and Peter would go on to be horse trainers.

Noel's son Troy Harris is a successful jockey.

Notable victories

The following are some of the major races Noel has won.

Year
Race
Horse
Trainer(s)
1972 WRC George Adams Handicap Egmont ParkBrain Deacon
1976 New Zealand 1000 Guineas PorshaBill & Graeme Sanders
1984 New Zealand 2000 Guineas Kingdom BayJ G Taylor
1987 Ormond Memorial Secret SealJeff Lynds
1988 Cox Plate Poetic Prince John Wheeler
1990 Bayer Classic Eagle Eye Murray Baker
1990 Sydney Cup King AussieJohn Harris
1991 Wellington Cup Castletown Patrick Busuttin
1991 Ormond Memorial Castletown Patrick Busuttin
1992 Auckland Cup Castletown Patrick Busuttin
1992 Wellington Cup Castletown Patrick Busuttin
1994 Wellington Cup Castletown Patrick Busuttin
1995 New Zealand 1000 Guineas Clear Rose Laurie Laxon
1999 Thorndon Mile SurfaceNoel Eales
1999 New Zealand Cup Wake ForestGus Clutterbuck
1999 Auckland Cup Irish Chance Colin Jillings & Richard Yuill
2000 New Zealand Derby Hail Bruce Marsh
2001 Manawatu Sires Produce Stakes San LuisChris McNab
2002 New Zealand 2000 Guineas HustlerPaul Harris
2002 New Zealand Cup MikePaul Harris
2003 Auckland Cup BodieNeil Connors
2006 New Zealand Cup PentathonJohn Wheeler
2007 Kelt Capital Stakes Princess Coup Mark Walker
2007 New Zealand Cup EverswindellJohn Sargent
2008 Manawatu Sires Produce Stakes Il Quello VeloceJohn Sargent
2014 Awapuni Gold Cup Soriano Graeme & Debbie Rogerson

See also

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References

  1. "Noel Harris / Jockey Profile / RaceInfo / LOVERACING.NZ". loveracing.nz.
  2. "Jockeys With More Than 100 New Zealand Wins". www.racebase.co.nz.
  3. "A - Z of New Zealand greats - Noel Harris". loveracing.nz.
  4. "Noel Harris hopes to net world record in farewell performance". Stuff. 3 April 2015.
  5. "Racing: Veteran jockey has waited 34 years for Cup redemption". NZ Herald.
  6. Desk, NZ Racing. "Farewell to a great racing contributor | NZ Racing News".