The big fella Cap D'Ail was drawing clear on the line to win at Kembla on Saturday - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

Jon Grisedale’s vast race riding experience clicked beautifully into gear shortly after the start of Saturday’s 1400m Cedar Cutters maiden at Kembla Grange. Jon had three options from the extreme outside gate on lightly raced four year old Cap D’Ail - go back to last, bustle him out of his comfort zone to go forward, or make the best of a three wide passage. The veteran jockey opted for the latter. He concentrated on getting the big gelding into a fluent rhythm and keeping him happy. At the 600m My Star led Creator Of World, with Alideel on the fence behind them. Cold Mist in the centre was the horse to keep Cap D’Ail three deep all the way to the turn. Grisedale was still sitting quietly as they swept into the straight but had to get busy when My Star grabbed a good break on straightening from Creator Of World and Alideel.

Looking like a horse needing further, Cap D’Ail took a while to hit top gear but by the 100m mark he was alongside My Star and going much the better. He was drawing clear on the line to win by half a length with Mayleigh closing off strongly for third. “I’d ridden Cap D’Ail twice previously for minor placings, and I could feel him getting better all the time,” said Jon. “I think that was proven by the way he won on Saturday. Three wide throughout and very strong on the line. You’d be surprised if he doesn’t get further. Might even manage 2000m in the future. It was pleasing to win the race for Diane Poidevin Laine, a very good trainer who’s been an institution at Kembla Grange for more than thirty years. I’ve only recently moved back to Kembla after seven years at Coffs Harbour, and it was a case of renewing an old association.”

Cap D'Ail is a nimble mover for a horse of his size. He has all four feet off the ground as he hits the line in the Cedar Cutters Maiden at Kembla - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

Jon and his trainer/wife Donna made the move to the far north coast early in 2019 after a number of successful years based at the famous South Coast track. The Grisedale’s felt the pressure to move when several major Sydney stables began to run horses at venues like Moruya, Sapphire Coast, Nowra, Goulburn and other tracks they patronised regularly. Jon and Donna were able to secure stables on course at Coffs Harbour and very quickly fitted into the new environment. In fact, Jon Grisedale’s willingness to ride trackwork was quickly seized upon by local trainers who couldn’t believe their luck in having the services of a jockey who’d ridden for so many major Sydney stables.

Donna Grisedale is a thoroughly dedicated trainer who spent a decade under the tutelage of the legendary Jack Denham before becoming a trainer in her own right - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

Not surprisingly they had to wait their turns until Donna’s horses had been worked. It wasn’t unusual for the experienced horseman to work 15 or 16 horses in one morning. His unrelenting work ethic quickly earned him strong support from Coffs Harbour trainers. Sadly, his rapid progress was halted six months after his arrival in Coffs Harbour when a race crash at Lismore left him with fractures to a clavicle, foot and ankle. Despite speculation that this latest setback might hasten his retirement, the tough-as-teak Grisedale made an amazing recovery and couldn’t wait to get back to the races. Before long he was back on the circuit, with regular rides at tracks like Coffs, Grafton, Ballina, Murwillumbah, Lismore, Taree, Port Macquarie, Kempsey, Tuncurry and Armidale. As he booted home the winners, Donna was also making her mark in the training ranks. The Grisedales had “arrived” on the Northern Rivers with a bang.

One of many Northern Rivers wins for the Grisedale duo. Jon wins the Kempsey Macleay Diggers Cup on Dollson - courtesy Trackside Photography.

Grisedale unsaddles one of almost 1400 winners - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

Many were surprised recently when they made the decision to pull up stumps in Coffs Harbour and return to Kembla Grange where Donna’s training career had begun sixteen years ago. They’d left Kembla for Coffs seven years ago because of the burgeoning presence of huge stables on their preferred circuit. They left Coffs Harbour for a totally different reason. “There’s nothing more important than reliable rainfall but Coffs Harbour these past three or four years has not been a good place to train racehorses,” says Jon. “We’ve had constant wet spells and on occasions the tracks have been unworkable. It has rained for days on end at times. It’s been impossible to get horses worked properly, and I don’t know how many race meetings have had to be called off. Coffs is a beautiful place but can be pretty tough on horse trainers. It rains at Kembla too on occasions but it’s nothing like Coffs Harbour rain.”

Jon Grisdale’s resilience after some serious setbacks remains a source of wonderment to many of his friends. In 2013 doctors thought he’d escaped with only a sprained ankle when a horse reared up with him in the Kembla Grange mounting yard. They’d failed to identify a hairline fracture to the fibula, and a few mornings later the bone gave way as he vaulted onto a horse. He actually announced his retirement, but one year later couldn’t resist the temptation to starting to ride a few of Donna’s horses on the training track. The leg came through with flying colours, the weight fell off him rapidly and before long he was back at the races.

A couple of years later at the Warwick Farm jumpouts Jon’s mount reared in the gates and jammed his left leg against an upright. Result was a fractured tibia, but not nearly as serious as his previous injury. He was back in ten weeks. These two injuries paled into insignificance alongside an illness he’d suffered in 1989. Jon contracted a condition known as endocarditis - an infection of the inner lining of the heart which stopped him in his tracks. It took specialists a long time to assess his condition and sadly he lost a kidney in the process. Not for one moment did Jon Grisedale consider retirement from race riding. It was a full year before he was back in the saddle, and happily that trauma hasn’t affected his subsequent health.

An early one of Jon winning the 1991 Tramway Hcp on Moville Peter. Runner up was Majestic Boy - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.

Forty years ago senior jockeys didn’t retire of their own accord. They were literally pensioned off by owners and trainers who considered them past their “use by” date. I recall Ron Quinton telling me he gradually fell out of favour when he reached the 45 mark, and Peter Cook had a similar story. Perhaps modern day owners and trainers have suddenly realised they can’t buy the experience of those older race riders whose nerve remains intact. Jeff Lloyd was almost 57 when he won his third Brisbane premiership in the 2018/2019 season. The amazing Robert Thompson was 63 when he quit the saddle in 2021 with an astonishing 4447 wins under his belt - an Australian record and one likely to stand the test of time. The great Glen Boss was 50 when he won his seventh Doncaster on Brutal in 2019. He retired eighteen months later.

Special mention of the “Mt. Isa Marvel” Keith Ballard who had his final race ride in November 2024 after a career spanning 55 years. At the time of his retirement Keith was 71 years old, indisputably the oldest jockey riding in Australia at the time. In the recently concluded racing season 49 year old Craig Williams won his tenth Melbourne jockey’s premiership, while Jason “Stubby” Holder notched his fourth Adelaide premiership at a youthful 50.

Jon is currently putting his vast experience to good use as a tutor to Donna’s stable apprentice Poppy Gorton. A former talented exponent of the eventing art, Poppy began her apprenticeship with Brad Widdup at Hawkesbury before transferring to the Grisedales at Coffs Harbour. She rode her first winner exactly a year ago at Goulburn, and has since added another ten to her CV. It’s well documented that Jon Grisedale is 62 years of age. His work ethic is legendary and his enthusiasm unbridled. He has no doubt the luxury of not having to waste has contributed largely to his longevity. He told me only last Sunday he could ride at 51kgs if given sufficient notice. His nerve is as steely today as it was when he was riding horses like Marauding for Nebo Lodge in the 1980’s.

Almost 1400 winners on the CV is testimony to his talents in the saddle. He hasn’t been able to snare a Gr 1 but has several stakes wins on the board in addition to a large number of Country Cups. I asked the obvious question when we spoke on Sunday morning regarding his likely retirement date. “Could be tomorrow, could be next week, might be next month or next year,” said the English born jockey. “I haven’t put a number on it.”

EVERGREEN JON GRISEDALE BACK IN THE KEMBLA GRANGE WINNER’S CIRCLE

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