There was widespread sadness this week with the news of the death of multiple champion jockey Pat Eddery. Coverage of his passing at the age of just 63 years not only filled the sports pages of the national dailies, it made the news pages also.

For many of these papers his achievements in the saddle were, thankfully, the main story. For others it was about his life after retiring and his battles with his demons and ill-health. Sadly the latter aspect of his life was real and had huge impacts personally on many people close to him and on those who loved him dearly. That cannot be ignored but it would be a huge pity were it to take in any measure from his achievements as a sportsman of the highest calibre.

I feel that he was not fully celebrated for what he did as a jockey. Only Sir Gordon Richards rode more winners in Britain and Pat’s total is unlikely to be matched or beaten in the future. He won as many jockeys titles as Lester Piggott with 11 and he had few equals when it came to the big race days.

His iconic victory on Dancing Brave in the 1986 Prix de l’Arc is rightly celebrated, while I personally still get goose bumps when I recall the 1975 titanic battle between Grundy and Bustino at Ascot. That was a defining racing moment for me.

It is also a measure of the man that Pat enjoyed lengthy and successful spells with three distinct owner and trainer entities, all of which resulted in him partnering true greats of the turf. Peter Walwyn, Vincent O’Brien and Khalid Abdullah all gave him opportunities to ride top-class horses and Pat repaid them by never losing a big race he should have won.

Grundy for Peter Walwyn, a host of fine horses for Ballydoyle which included Golden Fleece, Sadler’s Wells and El Gran Senor, and Dancing Brave, Quest For Fame and others as retained rider for Prince Khalid were all horses he guided to victory. Around the world he also made his mark with such as Pebbles at the Breeders’ Cup, Jupiter Island in Japan, and more besides.

Pat Eddery’s natural ability as a horseman was no doubt influenced greatly by the fact that his father Jimmy was twice champion jockey in Ireland and won the Irish Derby and Oaks, while his maternal grandfather Jack Moylan was also champion jockey in Ireland and he too won a number of Irish classics, including the Derby.