Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning jockey Graham Bradley dies aged 65

Graham Bradley, who steered Bregawn to victory in the 1983 Cheltenham Gold Cup, has died aged 65 after a career that delivered 686 winners in Britain and one of jump racing’s most memorable rides. He had been unwell for a few years.

Bradley’s record was built on quality rather than sheer volume. He was crowned champion conditional jockey in 1981-82, then went on to spend 22 years in the saddle, with his biggest stage coming at Cheltenham when he partnered Bregawn for Michael Dickinson.

That Gold Cup still stands apart. Dickinson trained the first five home in the 1983 running, with Bregawn leading Captain John, Wayward Lad, Silver Buck and Ashley House in a result that remains one of the most extraordinary in the race’s history. The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the final-day feature of the Cheltenham Festival and is run over 3m2½f, so Bradley’s winning ride is tied to the biggest staying chase on the calendar.

It is also why Bradley’s name never really slipped from view among jumping followers. He was part of a generation of riders whose judgement, balance and timing could shape a championship race in a single afternoon, and that Gold Cup ride gave him a place in the sport’s permanent memory.

John Francome led the tributes, describing Bradley as “stylish”, good company in the weighing room and a rider with “excellent hands and balance”. Paul Carberry also paid tribute, calling Bradley the “godfather of the weighing room” and saying he modelled himself on him early in his career.

Bradley later became known as a buyer and seller of horses, keeping one foot in racing long after his riding career was over. For a man with a relatively compact career, the imprint was unusually deep: one Gold Cup, 686 winners, and a reputation among peers that outlasted the years in the saddle.