Robin Oakley

The horse with a taste for human flesh

In the home straight, Palomba tried to take a chunk out of rival Lucky Lycra’s jockey

Jockey Greville Starkey, known for his unerring mimicry of a Jack Russell terrier’s bark [ANL/Shutterstock] 
issue 19 December 2020

Greville Starkey’s great victories as a jockey included the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Star Appeal at 119-1. In 1978 he won the Derby and Irish Derby on Shirley Heights and the Oaks and Irish Oaks on Fair Salinia. He was also known for his unerring mimicry of a Jack Russell terrier’s bark, a distinction that once had an airliner’s departure delayed while stewards sought in vain the animal aboard.

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