Ron Hutchinson Ron is no stranger to racing accolades. At the age of 16, Ron rode the first of more than 2,000 winners on handy sprinter Busybody, at Mentone in 1943. His first major win was as a seventeen-year-old apprentice in the 1945 Group 1 Australian Cup, winning on Spectre at 33-1. It was the first of the 60 Cup winners Ron was to ride in Australia, earning him the nickname of the “Cups King”. For the next ten years, Ron regularly ranked at or near the top of his field and won the Melbourne jockeys’ premiership in 1958-59. Ron left for Ireland in 1960, to try his luck on the International stage. He rode successfully in Ireland, and with Ron’s first ride in England in 1960, he won the 2000 Guineas on Martial. Coming to prominence quickly, Ron was offered a retainer to ride for the Duke of Norfolk. During this association, Ron won more than 1,000 races, an average of almost 63 for every year of his association with the Duke. His most notable victories include the Ascot Gold Cup, the British Two Thousand Guineas and One Thousand Guineas, along with the Goodwood Cup and the English St. Leger. Ireland was equally generous to Ron, providing him with wins in the Irish One Thousand Guineas on three occasions and the Two Thousand Guineas. During his career, Ron rode winners in 15 countries. Ron achieved many notable firsts during his career. This included giving one of racing’s most influential owners in the past 40 years, Sheik Mohammed, his first ever winner in racing, on a 3YO filly named Hatta. Ron concluded his brilliant riding career in Malaysia and Singapore as the first International rider to be retained by the Singapore and Malaya Turf Club, where he won the 1978 jockeys’ premiership, 23 wins clear of his nearest rival. Hutchie resides in Mornington. Ron regularly attends the Mornington races where he won the 1951 Cup on Raysun. During the 18/19 Racing season, former Mornington Advisory Group Chairman Mr Tony Hancy asked racing legend, Ron Hutchinson, if he’d take on the role of Ambassador at the Mornington racecourse. Ron was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2005, is a Life Member of the VRC, and now is a Life Member of the Melbourne Racing Club. We hope to see him around the track for many years to come. Congratulations Hutchie.
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