Vale George Moore
 

Jockey legend George 'Cotton Fingers' Moore has passed away overnight, after a long illness, aged 84.

Never saw him ride in the flesh (bit before my time) but looking at his riding record must have been a great horseman.

Still holds the record for G1 wins: 191. Had a phenomenal partnership with trainer T.J and had the best hands in the business.

----R.I.P------
'Cotton Fingers'

The top ten riders of today combined would not hold a candle to the great G. Moore even if they had his "whistle"

wasn't a bad trainer either
....a legend!

One of our best!
A public service will be held at All Saints Anglican Church, Woollahra at 11am, this Thursday.

Beagle.

Probably Mick Dittman would be the closest.

Cheers.
darky.

Very surprised to see that George still holds the record for the most G1 wins. Must have been a super jock.

He sure was...!
I can remember that during the 1969 Easter Carnival he rode 15 winners out of the 28 races held, including a swag of Gp races(NB. there were only 7 races on the programs in those days).
Then later on in his career he announced his retirement then made a spectacular comeback in 1971 when he won the Golden Slipper(Fairy Walk), The Doomben 10,000(Rajah Sahib) and a couple of Derbies in Melbourne later in the year on Classic Mission so there is no doubt he sure was some rider/jockey!
As I have stated in another thread...."he was the best that I have seen."
R.I.P. to a true Champion!

Cheers.

Hi xanadu
 

I gather you had the pleasure of seeing him ride in the flesh?

No, not in the flesh, westman but on grainy black and white TV on the Sunday racing review program hosted by Ken Howard and Keith Robbins on Channel9.
I was very young but even then I had the "racing bug" and regularly wagered my pocket-money on the horses. I learned very soon that most of George's mounts were paying "unders" due to his phenomenal public following.
That is when I started looking for value although I supported George regularly, I started having savers on other starters so that I would not lose my small "bank."
I heard that a greyhound/trotter/racehorse named "Cotton-fingers" won yesterday(I'm not sure) but that was truly an "omen" bet wasn't it?
Apparently it was at double figure odds-does any forumite have more specific details?

Cheers.

Cheers xanadu :)

BR8 (EF) yesterday 1st 5 COTTON FINGERS J BYRNE 10.60 3.10

Read somewhere that George & Athol Mulley had a bit of a history?

Yeah, they were regular "bluers" and were fined on several occasions for jockey-room stoushes.
I recommend you view Skychannel on Sunday at 9:30a.m.AEDT when I believe they will be showing a repeat of the George Moore interview with John Tapp-very good viewing.
One thing I learned was that George was originally offered the ride on a horse named "Bernborough" but due to a prior commitment could not accept the ride. Another rider, Athol George Mulley duly took the ride and as they say: "the rest is history!"
They're great anecdotes aren't they and contribute to the rich history of horse-racing in this country.

Cheers.

Apparently after completing the interview with John Tapp, George's wife, Iris, stated that George really wanted to do this interview because he felt that the general public had forgotten him.
Nothing could be more from the truth....George was....and still remains a legend in Australian racing.
Don't forget....even the Dazzler hasn't yet beaten George's haul of Group1 wins and it may be some time until some-one eclipses this achievement.

Cheers.

I was lucky enough to see the great G. Moore ride and he was certainly the best horseman I've ever seen go around a race track. Cast your minds back to a very fast 2 year old called Special Girl. Speed to burn but had a heart as big as a split pea. George Moore could nurse it over the line but I don't think any of our present top riders could get it to finish in the top 10. The best by far.

Well said Beagle(Hoss?),
I also remember those days....but I'm probably not as old as you.....!
I remember in Feb or Mar '69 George rode Special Girl in a lead-up race to the Slipper. As she was so brilliant she soon went to the lead by approx 10lengths and maintained this to the last furlong(2oom).
Then George "nursed" this brilliant filly to the line....a practice which was prevalent in those days.
However, George miscalculated and eased Special Girl down virtually to a walk but unknown to him a horse named Cyron(approx 100-1) flashed down the outside and nearly grabbed victory.
George was gently dealt with by the stewards and things unfolded onto the Golden Slipper when the superior colt, Vain, blitzed all contenders with Special Girl finishing down the track(injured).
Great memories,

Cheers.

G'day Xanado, Don't know what you mean by the Hoss reference but I certainly do not have an alias. The race you refer to was, I think, at Warwick Farm and the crowd got stuck right into poor old George. I can still remember him saying to those around the enclosure "I won didn't I" Ah, good old days when racing was fun and not completely taken over by the mighty dollar.And also when the jockeys had a bit of personality.

Yeah Beagle,
I know that TJ wasn't involved with those runners but wasn't he competitive....he gave no quarter!

Cheers.