Easterby family lead tributes to rider who 'made Sea Pigeon'

Peter Easterby has led the tributes from the racing community to former jockey Mark Birch, who has died at the age of 67.

Easterby, who had Birch as his stable jockey for the best part of 30 years, said: "He was a very good, reliable jockey. He made Sea Pigeon. The horse was a tearaway when I first got him, but Mark settled him down at home eventually and won a good race up at Redcar and a couple of Chester Cups on him."

Easterby's son Tim said: "He became an excellent stable jockey and a friend of the family. He always did his best, always did the weight and he knew the tracks better than anybody. I obviously went racing with him a lot, never when I was riding over jumps, but he was absolutely brilliant and taught me loads. It's a sad day."