Graham Bradley was a professional horse racer and a member of the National Hunt Jockey Club. On November 29, 2002 he was banned from the Club for breaking six of its rules.[1]
Career
[edit]Throughout his career, Bradley had many horseracing wins[2] including: riding Bregawn – Michael Dickinson’s Cheltenham Gold Cup (1983) winner,[3] the Champion Hurdle on Collier Bay (1996)[4] and the Grand National Hennessy Gold Cup (1997).[5]
Following his ban from the Club, Bradley set out to become a horseracing trainer, but he abandoned this plan in 2015.[6]
Winning horses
[edit]Since his retirement in 1999[7] Bradley has purchased a few champion horses. Seebald won seven races before finishing second in the Irish Independent Arkle Challenge Trophy[8] at the Cheltenham Festival in 2002.
Controversy
[edit]Bradley has received various punishments over the years including:
- 1982: withdrawal of license for two months due to bet placement at Cartmel,[9]
- 1987: banned for five months under the "non-triers" rule after a race at Market Rasen,[10]
- 1987: fined £2,500 for trying to end the race at the Cheltenham Gold Cup, anticipating unfavorable conditions for Forgive 'N' Forget,[11]
- 1988: heavily fined alongside Geoff Harker due to missing both a fence and an entire circuit at the Sedgefield races[12]
- 1996: pulled up Man Mood, the odds-on favourite, in a race at Warwick,[13]
- 1999: Jockey Club licence suspension[14] and racehorse access restricted following the Metropolitan Police’s charge against him. The charges were filed against him on April 13, 1999 due to the incident in 1996.[15] Two months later this was rescinded by Crown Prosecution Service which withdrew the charges against him since the original charge was subject to review.[16] The rules he broke were: 204 (iv), Rule 62(ii)(c), Rule 220(vii)(b), Rule 220(viii) Rule 220(iii) and Rule 140.[17]
Throughout the 1990's, an investigation into Bradley's actions occurred due to concerns about race fixing. These events were what led to his retirement.[18] In 2014, Bradley was cleared of charges alleging he was training horses under the name of Brendan Powell.[19] In 2019, Irish authorities allowed Bradley to register as a racehorse owner.[20] Marchons Ensemble came second in his name.[21] Bradley has been referred to as “one of racing’s most controversial characters".[22]
Publications
[edit]The Wayward Lad was a Ghost-written autobiography on him by Steve Taylor.[23]
References
[edit]- ^ "Eight year ban for Bradley". 2 December 2002. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "Graham Bradley | Horse Records | Racing Post". www.racingpost.com. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "Cheltenham Gold Cup 1983 | Gold Cup". 21 October 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "Old pays tribute to 'street-fighting' Champion Hurdle winner Collier Bay | Horse Racing News | Racing Post". www.racingpost.com. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "Suny Bay enjoys spectacular victory". The Irish Times. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "Bradley drops plan to become trainer". BBC Sport. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "Graham Bradley withdraws application for training licence". Sky Sports. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "Horseracing: Festival next stop for Seebald". Irish Examiner. 21 January 2002. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "Claims Five: Why Graham Bradley is a legend". the Guardian. 10 September 2010. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "Full Result 1.15 Market Rasen | 7 January 1987 | Racing Post". www.racingpost.com. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "Bradley faces long list of charges today; Bradley inquiry may be three-day epic. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ Horse Racing's Strangest Tales. Portico. 16 February 2017. ISBN 9781911042839.
- ^ "BBC News | Jockey Club". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "Graham Bradley banned for eight years". the Guardian. 30 November 2002. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "Jockey in court on race fix claim".
- ^ "Jockey Club Remove Restrictions on Graham Bradley". The British Horseracing Authority. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "Graham Bradley Appeal Board Result". The British Horseracing Authority. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ Modern Sports Law: A Textbook. Bloomsbury. 26 October 2010. ISBN 9781847317377.
- ^ "Graham Bradley withdraws application for training licence". Sky Sports. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "Talking Horses: Graham Bradley back in the game as an owner in Ireland". the Guardian. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "Marchons Ensemble | Horse Profile | Sky Sports Horse Racing". Sky Sports. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ Lee, Alan. "Graham Bradley in trouble for 'training' Brendan Powell horses". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "Graham Bradley THE WAYWARD LAD First Edition Signed". books-and-records.com. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.