Scobie Breasley

Who was Scobie Breasley?

Arthur Edward "Scobie" Breasley was an Australian jockey. He won the Caulfield Cup in Melbourne five times: 1942-45 consecutively on Tranquil Star, Skipton, Counsel and St Fairy; then on Peshawar in 1952. He also won 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, but while still very young was given the nickname "Scobie", after the famous Australian trainer James Scobie.

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 1961-63. 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, France, the United States, and Barbados where he and his wife owned a holiday home. He retired from training horses after winning the most prestigious race in Barbados - the Gold Cup - on four occasions in the early 1990s and returned to live in Melbourne.