Scobie Breasley

Horseracing personalities infobox
name = Scobie Breasley


caption = Scobie Breasley
occupation = Jockey
birthplace = Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia
birth date = May 7, 1914
death date = December 21, 2006
career wins = 3,251
race = Caulfield Cup (1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1952)
Victoria Derby (1944, 1952)
2,000 Guineas (1951)
1,000 Guineas (1954)
Eclipse Stakes (1958)
King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (1958)
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (1958)
Epsom Derby (1964, 1966)

As a trainer:
Irish Derby Stakes (1972)
Flying Childers Stakes (1975)
Middle Park Stakes (1975)
King's Stand Stakes (1976)
Barbados Gold Cup (1989, 1991, 1992, 1993)
awards = British flat racing Champion Jockey
(1957, 1961, 1962, 1963)
honours = Australian Racing Hall of Fame (2000)
Scobie Breasley Medal awarded by Racing Victoria
horses = Ki Ming, Festoon, Ballymoss,
Santa Claus, Charlottown
updated = June 25, 2007

Arthur Edward "Scobie" Breasley (7 May 1914 - 21 December 2006) was an Australian jockey, the winner of the Caulfield Cup in Melbourne five times (1942-5 consecutively) on Tranquil Star, Skipton, Counsel and St Fairy - then on Peshawar in 1952, the Epsom Derby twice, and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe once.

Breasley was born in 1914 in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales and was christened Arthur Edward, being given while still very young the nickname by which he is generally known, after the famous Australian trainer James Scobie.cite web
url = http://www.wagga.nsw.gov.au/museum/index.aspx?item=shof&sub=browse&cat=museum_shof&article=DM5RRYJ9TEVJK8H7JQTN
title = Breasley, Scobie
work = Sporting Hall of Fame
publisher = Museum of the Riverina
accessdate = 2007-05-01]

During his career, Breasley rode 3,251 winners including over 1,000 in Australia and 2,161 in Britain. He rode over 100 winners in England every year from 1955 to 1964, and was Champion Jockey in 1957 and continuously from 1961-3. He won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe for the only time on Ballymoss in 1958, and the Derby for the first time at the age of 50 on Santa Claus in 1964, then again on Charlottown in 1966.

He developed a great rivalry with Sir Gordon Richards, and later with the younger jockey Lester Piggott. He was renowned for his exquisite balance in the saddle, for refusing to race wide, and for his sparing use of the whip, preferring to use hands and heels.

Breasley retired as a jockey in 1968 and took up training in Epsom, England, France, the United States, and in Barbados where he and his wife owned a vacation home. He retired in 1990 and returned to live in Melbourne.

The racing authorities in the state of Victoria struck a medal in his honour, awarded annually since 1996 to the best jockey in the state. On its formation, Scobie Breasley was the first person inducted in the Australian Racing Hall of Fame.

Scobie Breasley died on 21 December 2006, after suffering a stroke a few days earlier.

References

* [http://www.wagga.nsw.gov.au/museum/index.aspx?item=shof&sub=browse&cat=museum_shof&article=6HWT9TQLBZURGYOYEQRK Museum of the Riverina Website feature]
* [http://www.racingmuseum.com.au/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1 Australian Racing Museum and Hall of Fame]