It is with great sadness that the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) advises that four-time Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Harry White has passed away.
Four-time Melbourne Cup winning jockey Harry White has died after a lengthy battle with illness.
The 78-year-old died on Cox Plate eve, a race he won on Rubiton in 1987.
White shares the Melbourne Cup record of four winners with Bobbie Lewis having won the race aboard Think Big (1974-75), Arwon (1978) and Hyperno (1979).
In a career spanning 35 years, White also won the Melbourne Jockeys’ Premiership in 1967-68, 1973-74, 1978-79 and 1980-81.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003 and the jockey’s feature race haul also included five Australian Cups, three Oakleigh Plates, three Newmarket Handicaps and three Futurity Stakes.
Victorian Jockeys’ Association Executive Officer Matt Hyland paid tribute to White not only as a champion jockey but also as a compassionate man.
“Harry White defined all the qualities of a champion jockey and his inclusion in Racing’s Hall of Fame in 2003 was testament to this,” Hyland said.
“While his achievements in the saddle will be revered forever, it was out of the saddle and during his years in retirement that Harry again showed he was a man of truly beautiful qualities.
“He was a caring, compassionate, thoughtful, humble and a generous man who was consistently and quietly supportive of many jockeys who had fallen on challenging times.
“Harry will be deeply missed but his legacy will be remembered forever as a truly iconic figure in Australian horse racing.”
In addition to his Melbourne Cup victories, White won the Caulfield Cup twice, the Australian Cup five times, the Newmarket Handicap three times and the W.S. Cox Plate. In his 35-year career in the saddle, he had close to 200 wins in feature races, with 60 at Group 1 level, and won the Melbourne jockeys’ premiership four times.
Written by the VRC
