George Moore: Australian Champion Jockey

One of the invincible jockeys to blaze the Australian race tracks is none other than George Thomas Donald Moore OBE, a jockey and Thoroughbred horse trainer who began his career in 1938 as an apprentice under Brisbane trainer Louis Dahl. His extraordinary ability to control horses made him get the best out of any horse he saddled, and soon came to be known as 'Cotton Fingers'. It wasn't long before Moore became a top apprentice jockey, winning the Senior Jockeys' Premiership in 1943. In 1949, he moved over to Sydney to join trainer Tommy J. Smith, which marked the beginning of a long and illustrious career that no one in the racing fraternity will ever forget.

Moore expanded his horizons in 1950, accepting an invitation from Johnny Longden to ride in the San Diego Handicap at the Del Mar Racetrack. However, he continued to be the most successful jockey in Australia throughout the 1950s and 1960s. His skills caught the attention of Prince Aly Khan, which took Moore to Longchamp to win the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 1959, steering the Prince's horse, Saint Crespin, trained by Alec Head to victory. The trio moved on to win the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket in the same year, where Moore had an impressive victory astride Taboun. His success with the Prince's family continued with a win on Charlottesville in the Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly, followed by another remarkable ride on Sheshoon in the Ascot Gold Cup. These horses were now owned by Prince Aga Khan after the unfortunate death of Prince Aly in a car accident in Paris. Apart from several big races in the UK, 'Cotton Fingers' won the Derby, two 2,000 Guineas, and the 1,000 Guineas.

One of the best years in his career was in the UK in 1967, where he won the Epsom Derby astride Royal Palace, blazing past the winning post two-and-a-half lengths ahead of Ribocco with the famous Lester Piggott in the saddle. In the same season, Moore also bagged the King George VI Stakes and the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in July, holding Busted firmly to finish way ahead of his rivals. Along with trainer Noel Murless, this was a year that Moore would never forget. Back home in Australia, Moore continued to clock up more wins than any other Australian jockey did, in combination with T. J. Smith. Between 1957 and 1969, Moore won ten Sydney Jockeys' Premierships. If it wasn't for a 30 month suspension in the mid-1950s, he probably would have had a dozen premierships to his name. With so many victories to his credit, Moore's only regret was not having won the Melbourne Cup back home. Moore's favorite horse was none other than Tulloch which he rode 19 times to victory out of the Hall of Fame horse's thirty-six wins. Moore decided to hang up his boots in 1971, but not before establishing a record with 312 metropolitan stakes and 119 Group One wins. His penchant for winning continued as a trainer in France, Australia, and Hong Kong, where he won 11 training premierships between 1973 and 1985.

Moore retired from all forms of racing in 1985 and settled down in the Gold Coast until his demise in Sydney on 8 January 2008. An illustrious career as Moore's cannot go unnoticed with numerous awards coming his way. He was awarded an OBE by the Queen in 1972 and was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1986. In addition, Moore was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2001. The George Moore Medal is presented to the most outstanding jockey in Sydney every year. Australia Post dedicated a postage stamp as part of its Australian Legends series to 'Cotton Fingers' in 2007. An incredible 2,278 winners worldwide will be a tough record to beat by any standards. His fame knows no bounds, with the highest compliments an Australian jockey can ever receive being, "He rode that like George Moore".

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