Jack Purtell

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John Michael Purtell
Occupation	Jockey
Born	1921
Died	8 March 2017 (aged 95) Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
Racing awards
Inductee to the Australian Racing Hall of Fame
Significant horses
Hiraji Wodalla Rising Fast

John Michael Purtell (1921 – 8 March 2017) was an Australian jockey who rode three Melbourne Cup winners.

Career

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Purtell, also known as 'Gentleman Jack’, rode his first race in 1936 at the age of 15.^[1]^[2] He was an apprentice jockey to Ted Temby at his Mordialloc, Victoria stables. He won his first race on Bonus at Mentone, Victoria in April 1937.^[3] Purtell rode more than 1700 winners including three Melbourne Cups. He was suspended only once.^[4] The best horse he rode was Comic Court to 19 wins even though he opted not to ride it in the 1950 Melbourne Cup.^[5]^[6]^[2] He won seven Melbourne Jockey Premierships – 1946/47, 1948/49, 1949/50, 1950/51, 1954/55, 1960/61 and 1961/62.^[7] In January 1953, he suffered severe head injuries in a race fall at Caulfield Racecourse.^[8]^[9]

Purtell rode Fighting Force when it triple dead-heated with both Pandie Sun and Ark Royal in the 1956 Hotham Handicap, a rare event in racing.^[6]^[10]

He retired in 1966 at the age of 45 and he became a Stipendiary Steward at the Victorian Racing Club until March 1981.^[11]^[2]^[6]^[4]

Purtell married in 1949 to Norma Giles and seven thousand people turned up to the church in Clifton Hill, Victoria.^[12] He died on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland on 8 March 2017, aged 95.^[5] Purtell and his wife had two children, Garry and Mark.^[13]

He was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2004.^[1] A sculpture of Purtell by John Frith is held by the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.^[8]

Major wins

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Melbourne Cup – Hiraji (1947), Wodalla (1953), Rising Fast (1954)
Cox Plate – Alister (1950), Bronton (1951), Rising Fast (1954), Ray Ribbon (1956)
Caulfield Cup – Velocity (1941)

References

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^ ^a ^b "Jack Purtell". Australian Racing Hall of Fame. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c Stewart, Matt (9 March 2017). "RIP, Jack Purtell: late jockey 'Gentleman Jack' crossed racing's great divide". Herald Sun. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
^ "Jack Purtell: Melbourne Cup Winning Jockey". Kingston Historical website. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
^ ^a ^b Presnell, Max (8 December 2013). "Gentleman Jack was a master of the old school". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Three time Melbourne Cup winning jockey dies". Just Horse Racing website. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c Eddy, Andrew. "Riding legend Jack Purtell passes away". Racing.com.
^ "Melbourne Jockey Premiership Past Winners". Racerate website. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Jack Purtell". National Portrait Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
^ "Jack Purtell gravely hurt". The Argus. 3 January 1953. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
^ "Triple dead-heat in the 1956 Hotham Handicap". The Age. 4 November 2006. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
^ "Jack Purtell saysgoodbye". Canberra Times. 9 March 1981. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
^ "7,000 RUSH CHURCH TO SEE PURTELL MARRIED". The Argus. 25 April 1949. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
^ "PURTELL, John Michael "Jack" of Minyama Death Notice". Sunshine Coast Daily. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2017.

External links

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Australian Racing Hall of Fame

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