Stories from the Saddle: Patrick Smith

Few jockeys have taken a 12-year sabbatical from the saddle before returning. And it’s unlikely that any have made as immediate an impact on their comeback than Patrick Smith. The 31-year-old, from Bethersden – near Ashford – in Kent, had made a promising start to his pointing career as a teenager, with seven winners in the 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 seasons, before disappearing from the scene*.

He has had his first mounts since, on Grange Island, this season, and got off the mark at Charing on Saturday on his third ride back (pictured above being led in by fiancee Jenny Connor), which was his first success since April 2013. An intrigued Jake Exelby talked to Patrick afterwards, with two key questions being: why did you stop riding? And what made you come back after such a long break?

Talk me through your career in racing so far and how you got into point-to-pointing in the first place?

I grew up on the family sheep farm – we lamb 1,200 ewes each year – and we’ve always had horses. Mum and Dad were always keen on racing and used to take us pointing – Charing, just 20 minutes up the road, is the first one I remember. Mum introduced me to riding and, while I wasn’t keen as a youngster, I got interested in my teens.

I started riding out at David Phelan’s aged 13. Well, I say riding, but it was more like getting carted round the gallops and trying to hang on! It was quite an eye-opener going from ponies to horses. I used to go and pick up horses for David to break in – we’d wrestle them on to the lorry!

My birthday’s in March, and my parents were keen for me to start straightaway, but David said I needed more experience, so I didn’t have my first ride until just before I turned 17.

You had your first rides on Reflex Blue. Tell me about him.

I trained him at home. In total, he raced 105 times, on the flat, over jumps and in points. He started off as a two-year-old as a five-furlong sprinter and ended up at places like Penshurst and Peper Harow. He was definitely a thinker and knew how to pace himself but taught me so much about race-riding. I could literally close my eyes and sit on him.

I remember my first ride at Godstone – he was called as a faller but Nick Pearce, who’d ridden him in points, said to David, “No way has he fallen. He never falls.” And he was right.

How did the association with David Phelan come about?

Through Brian Homewood, a long-time family friend, who ran the Hunting, Shooting & Fishing Partnership who had horses with David. My Dad and Brian have been playing cards together for nearly 50 years.

David Phelan - a big influence on Patrick (who is behind him) (Caroline Exelby)

You had no wins from 13 rides in your first few months… then two on the same day at Cottenham. How did that make you feel?

It came out of nowhere. I’d had a few seconds – although one was in a match! My first winner was Flowersoftherarest and the second was Oscar The Myth. I remember James Owen running wide on the final bend and leaving me free passage.

I remember you winning on Flowersoftherarest in East Anglia. Tell me about him.

Brian wanted me to ride Flowers. He’s a fantastic, once in a lifetime, horse and is still around – David has him at home. He has a great life.

Patrick on Flowers before winning at Charing - exactly 14 years before he did the same on Grange Island!

As well as me, my great friend Freddie Mitchell, Brendan Powell and Tom Cannon all won on him. Freddie won three, he was Brendan’s first winner and Tom scored on the horse’s pointing debut. Look what those three have gone on to do as jockeys – where did I go wrong?

Freddie Mitchell - great friend of Patrick (Neale Blackburn)

Do you have another favourite horse from your initial spell riding?

I really enjoyed riding Lepido and was second on him four times – I remember being 1/3 at Hackwood Park once. He was an Italian flat-bred horse, who just wouldn’t put his head in front.

I remember Freddie riding him at Folkestone once. He was long odds-on in running with Betfair… and finished second!

Why did you stop after two years, particularly after what seemed a promising start to your career?

Things were going well, and I’d ridden a lot of winners quickly, but my weight was getting the better of me, and I was possibly getting stale. I was still enjoying it, and the highs were high, but the lows were low. Riding the likes of Lepido could be frustrating, and it was getting into my head. Plus, I was focusing so much on riding, that I wasn’t having much of a social life.

So, after the 2013 season, I went to Australia, to stay with my fellow South East rider Claire Douglas and her partner. I was based at Mornington, an hour from Melbourne. There were thirty trainers there, and 700 horses would work on the track each day.

Patrick (right) riding on the beach in Australia

The plan was to stay for three months, and… six years later… I came home.

And why did you decide to come back this season – a 12-year gap is a long time?

I met Jenny Connor, who’s now my fiancée, in Australia and we decided to come back to the farm. I started riding out for David again and we still had horses at home, so I did a bit of pinhooking.

Last year, I trained a pointer and schooled her myself. I was getting on for 14 stone and decided I needed a change so, when I got down to 12st7lbs, I decided to give it another go, encouraged by Freddie in particular.

How did you come by Grange Island?

David came up with him, and he was just what I was looking for – experienced, and the right price. We train him at home – Jenny rides him – and take him to David’s to gallop.

I don’t think I’d have come back if it wasn’t for Jenny. She knows exactly what to do. David said he needed sweetening up – you have to keep older horses happy – and Jenny’s done that.

How did it feel to win on Saturday after such a long time? I’ve seen the video – you look quite emotional.

With Charing my local track, and being there with friends and family, made it special. People were behind us as a team. One of the first people to congratulate me was our sheep auctioneer!

Celebrations at Charing (L-R Jenny, Patrick, Mum Sallie and Dad Rex)

You beat James King, Josh Newman and Gina Andrews – 169 winners between them since the start of last season! Does that make it even more special than beating fellow novice riders?

I looked across two out and there was James – not who I wanted to see! I thought, ‘Here we go, I’m booked for second’. As for Gina, she was the top girl when I was first riding and has maintained that position. She’s as good, if not better, than she was then.

Patrick (red and yellow) in action

And it was great to see Josh at Charing and getting his milestone (100 winners trained).

A winner’s a winner, but that was a proper race. We got racing a long way out and, at Charing, you have to roll with the punches, or you can get left behind going down the hill.

"You have to roll with the punches" - coming down the hill at Charing (Neale Blackburn)

Which other jockeys did you admire when you started?

James Owen was a tough opponent. And Phil York, of course. I remember going down the hill at Charing one day and thinking I had a loose horse on my inside. No, it was Yorky – he’d found room up the inner!

What's your favourite course along with Charing?

So many have closed in the South East. I remember Catsfield – that was a great course.

What are you most looking forward to about the rest of the season, having now made your comeback?

We’ll take it as it comes. We probably won’t run Grange Island on faster ground – he didn’t go an inch at Horseheath – and, while he’s ten, he hasn’t got many miles on the clock. He’s a lovely horse with lovely manners, and I’d like to think he can keep going for years to come.

We hope to go to Kingston Blount next. It’s one of the best courses in the country – Alan Hill keeps it in mint condition.

What are your ambitions in pointing and racing?

I’d like to ‘ride out my claim’, by getting to ten winners. But I’ve got my sheep farming ‘career’ to think about – I don’t want any sore bones!

Patrick and Dad Rex doing the day job!

What do you enjoy most about pointing?

For us, it’s an amateur sport, and to have a good time with friends and family, having a drink by the lorry, is what it’s about.

What would you do if you were in charge of the sport?

I don’t want to be too controversial, but it’s very difficult to get people involved and the answer to the question, ‘How much does the horse win?’ is the root problem. Even doubling prize money would change a lot.

It’s also a shame that we can’t race more often at Charing – both meetings there are Hunt Clubs, which are only allowed two meetings a year. The landowners are great people and it’s a shame the course can’t be utilised more.

Patrick and his hunter Seamus out with the Mid Surrey Farmers Drag

On a positive note, I think the GB Pointing posts on social media are doing a great job.

What are your non-horsey hobbies?

We’ve got a greyhound at Sittingbourne. There are five of us involved – me, David, Freddie and fellow jockeys Seb Mead and Will Rekert. We like to go for a beer and a laugh.

*Another current jockey, James Innes - who plies his trade in the Northern Area - took a 13-season break between 2008 and 2021, and had to wait over 17 years, from March 2007 to April 2024, for another winner. Thanks to Sean Tasker Brown for the information.