Roy Higgins: Champion Jockey

Australian horse racing in the late 1960s and 1970s witnessed some of the most spirited riders storm the tracks, setting records frequently. One of the most famous jockeys to do so was none other than Roy Henry Higgins MBE. Born in Koondrook, Victoria in 1938, Higgins spent his years as an apprentice with trainer Jim Watters in the town of Deniliquin in New South Wales. Despite a constant battle with weighing scale from the day he had his first ride Higgins was able to stretch his career for thirty years which took him around the world.

'The Professor' was undoubtedly one of Australia's best loved jockeys known for his exemplary skill of handling horses. His career included a splendid partnership with trainer Bart Cummings, a duo that proved unstoppable during the late 1960s and 1970s. Higgins' first ride was on Cherry Girl at Deniliquin on August 22, 1953, a race which did not bring him any luck, finishing last in the field. However, this loss was meant to be his last for a very long time. Two months down the line Higgins was back with a victory on Statutory in the Diggers Handicap. His time as an apprentice was spent mainly in the Southern Districts of New South Wales and North East Victoria, a time which marked the beginning of a glorious racing career. Higgins won the leading apprentice title in both regions with almost 300 races.

Higgins' first taste of victory in Melbourne was a double, riding Gay Saxon and Triage to victory at Flemington. These two victories inspired Rollo Roylance, Chief Racing Writer for the Sporting Globe to nickname Higgins as 'The Professor'. Higgins threw his 'weight' around on the race track until his retirement in 1974 in more ways than one, rarely riding below 53.5 kgs. Always hungry for victory, he ended up with 11 premiership titles as Victoria's most successful jockey, equaling Bill Duncan's record.

Higgins' most memorable Cup wins were probably his two Melbourne Cup victories with Light Fingers in 1965 and Red Handed in 1967, almost making it three wins when he nearly rode Salamander to victory in a photo finish in 1979. These were also the first of 12 Cup wins for trainer Bart Cummings. During his career, The Professor won 69 Weight for Age races which included 5 VRC Craiglee Stakes, 4 VATC St. George Stakes, and 3 VRC Lightning Stakes, among others. Since winning became a habit, Higgins also took home 8 Futurity Stakes and 7 VRC Sires' Produce Stakes. Not to forget a double each in the AJC All Aged Stakes and VRC McKinnon Stakes. The only major Australian race that Higgins never got his hands on was the Stradbroke Handicap.

Along with Bart Cummings, The Professor rode winners in South Africa, Belgium, France, and Hong Kong. Such a splendid racing career can never go unnoticed, which is why Roy Higgins was inducted into the Australian Sporting Hall of Fame in 1983 and was the inaugural inductee into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2001. The heavyweight jockey's victory in the John F. Feehan Stakes at Moonee Valley astride Lawman was to be his last feature race winner. The incredible jockey's love for racing keeps him busy as an advisor and selector of broodmares on behalf of Northern Lodge. Higgins is also a consultant at the North Melbourne Institute of Tafe and trains today's youth in all areas of breeding and horse husbandry at Northern Lodge. The infallible jockey is still a favourite with the media and lends his time as an expert at racing carnivals throughout the country.

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