Memories of jockey Geoff Lewis, his association with Mill Reef will live forever among horse racing fans
Racing lost a great ornament on Wednesday, August 27, with the death of Geoff Lewis, the legendary jockey who won both the Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on the brilliant Mill Reef. He was hailed as “one of the icons of the turf.” Lewis died at the age of 89, just a few days after Bruce Raymond, another of Britain’s most notable Flat jockeys.
Lewis dominated the flat racing scene for more than a quarter of a century, riding 1,880 winners in Britain and twice finishing runner-up in the jockeys’ championship. He then turned to training for another 20 years. To have achieved what he did without any family background in racing was truly remarkable, and he remains one of Britain’s most accomplished race riders. His family said in a statement: “Geoff passed away peacefully with his family by his side. He was a much-loved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, and we will remember him with immense pride for the person he was and all he accomplished in life.”
The most successful Welsh jockey of all time, Lewis also rode dual Classic winners such as Right Tack, Altesse Royale and Mysterious, and forged lasting partnerships with trainers Ian Balding, John Sutcliffe and Sir Noel Murless. Although he never won the title of champion jockey, he pulled off many of racing’s great upsets, including riding Lorenzaccio to beat Nijinsky in the Champion Stakes. Other memorable mounts included Silly Season, Be Friendly, Jimmy Reppin and Prince Regent, giving him nearly 2,000 victories worldwide. Later, as a trainer at Epsom, his best horse was the champion sprinter Lake Coniston.
Geoffrey Lewis was born on December 21, 1935, at Talgarth, Brecknockshire, the sixth of 13 children of a general labourer. The family later moved to Shepherd’s Bush, west London, after the Second World War. His first job was as a pageboy at the Waldorf Hotel, before becoming apprenticed at age 16 to Epsom trainer Ron Smyth. His first winner was Eastern Imp at Epsom in April 1953, and he was twice runner-up to Edward Hide in the apprentice championship. Two of his early big-race winners, Tudor Monarch in the 1959 Stewards’ Cup and Vienna in the 1960 Blue Riband Trial, were owned by Sir Winston Churchill.
Lewis’s rise was steady rather than meteoric, but in 1958 he began what would become the most important association of his career when he became first jockey to Peter Hastings-Bass at Kingsclere. Together they had notable wins with St Lucia, Kipling, King’s Troop and Gaul, while Secret Step came close to being crowned champion sprinter. After Hastings-Bass’s death in 1964, Ian Balding took over, and with Paul Mellon’s horses at Kingsclere, Lewis gained mounts that shaped his legacy, including Silly Season, Berkeley Springs, Morris Dancer and ultimately Mill Reef.
Outside Kingsclere, he rode Be Friendly, trained for Peter O’Sullevan, who became the top sprinter of 1967–68. In 1968, Lewis also shone with Jimmy Reppin and Right Tack, who became the first horse to complete the 2,000 Guineas double at Newmarket and the Curragh. That year he also partnered Park Top, though was harshly criticized after defeat in the Eclipse. His victory on Lorenzaccio over Nijinsky in 1970 remains one of the sport’s greatest shocks, and shortly afterwards Noel Murless appointed him as stable jockey. Crucially, Lewis insisted that he still be allowed to ride Mill Reef.
Mill Reef became his crowning achievement. Trained by Ian Balding, Mill Reef won the Dewhurst Stakes, Derby, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Arc under Lewis. With unmatched judgement of pace and sensitive hands, Lewis brought out the very best in the colt. Their victory in the 1971 Arc was particularly dramatic, as Lewis found himself boxed in before steering Mill Reef through the narrowest of gaps to win in spectacular fashion. In total, Mill Reef won 12 of his 14 races before a broken leg ended his career. Lewis also made history that same Epsom meeting by winning the Derby, Oaks and Coronation Cup, the only jockey ever to do so.
Lewis excelled on fillies such as Altesse Royale, Attica Meli and Mysterious, the last of whom won both the 1,000 Guineas and Oaks in 1973. His career highlights also included victories on Tudor Monarch, Magna Carta, Right Tack and Random Shot, among many others. He retired from the saddle in 1979 after winning the Haydock Sprint Cup on Double Form, having notched 1,880 winners in Britain.
He then turned to training at Thirty Acre Barn in Epsom, where he sent out 539 winners between 1979 and 1999. His most notable horses included Yawa, Silver Wisp, and Lake Coniston, the outstanding sprinter of 1995. With financial pressures mounting, he retired to Marbella in 1999 before returning to Britain in 2014.
Short and stocky, Lewis never struggled with weight problems, and his classical riding style was often compared to Sir Gordon Richards. Willie Carson recalled: “He was a good jockey; his record tells you that. Racing was different then—you had to be wary of others, and Geoff was strong-minded. He was small in stature but became a giant of the racing world.” Philip Mitchell described him as “so strong in the saddle” with “a brilliant racing brain.”
A keen golfer, Lewis never let his stutter dim his character, often quick-tempered but equally quick to forgive. He married Noelene Munro, daughter of dual Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Jim Munro, in 1959, and they had two children, Gary and Marianne. His son Gary tragically died young.
Andrew Balding, son of Ian Balding, said: “It’s very sad news. Geoff played an important part in my family’s life and will be greatly missed. Not only was he a wonderful jockey but also a huge personality. Dad and he enjoyed not only Mill Reef and those magical moments together but also a great friendship later in life.”
Geoff Lewis rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most accomplished jockeys Britain has ever seen. His life and legacy—inseparable from Mill Reef—will be remembered as long as racing endures.
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*Feelance journalist
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