Lord Gyllene ~ 1997 Grand National Winner
The photo above shows jockey Tony Dobbin riding the 1997 Grand National winner Lord Gyllene.
Lord Gyllene was foaled in 1988 in New Zealand, and was purchased by racecourse owner Stan Clarke and sent to Steve Brookshaw for a career in Britain.
It all came together for Lord Gyllene's in 1997 in the Grand National when he claimed a famous pillar to post triumph. The 150th running of the race had previously been postponed following an IRA bomb threat on the Saturday, but after a massive security operation it went ahead, 48 hours later, on the Monday.
And when it did jockey Tony Dobbin sent Lord Gyllene, a New Zealand-bred nine-year-old, into the lead as soon as the tapes went up and they proceeded to dominate a race winning by a massive 25 lengths.
Jockey ~ Tony Dobbin
Born in 1972 in Downpatrick, Tony Dobbin is a retired Northern Irish National Hunt jockey who began his flat race apprenticeship under the guidance of Jonjo O'Neill in 1988.
His performances suitably impressed Gordon Richards, owner of the Greystoke stables in Cumbria, who hired Dobbin as a stable jockey where he went on to finishe the 1993/4 season as leading conditional with 45 winners.
The 1995/96 season proved to be another successful one, this time riding 67 winners.
But it was in 1997 when he rode the winner of the Grand National on Lord Gyllene that he really came into his own. Over his career he won over 1,200 races and retired from racing on Thursday, 10 April, 2008 riding the winner of his final race, Ballyvoge, at Carlisle Racecourse.
