Wonderfully evocative tale by a jump jockey whose career was brought to a halt

The Going Up Was Worth The Coming Down by Ian Watkinson
£20, published by New Generation Publishing

Ah, the 1970s. A time of great jumps horses like Tingle Creek and Night Nurse, swashbuckling jockeys with a cavalier style in and out of the saddle, TV icons such as This Is Your Life and Noel Edmonds, and some rather different attitudes to drink driving and the like.

All of them feature in this wonderfully evocative autobiography by a jump jockey who lived the sportsman's life to the full until a serious head injury brought his career to a juddering halt aged just 30. That was far from the end and, now 72, he has a wealth of stories from a remarkable racing life that also took him to Australia as a trainer as well as some darker places.

Ian Watkinson’s name does not appear among the championship winners, nor on the honours list of the Grand National or Cheltenham Gold Cup, but he rode several of the best horses in that golden age and was involved on some momentous occasions.

Watkinson won seven times on the great two-mile chaser Tingle Creek and had a perfect record from three rides on Sea Pigeon, who later cemented his place among the immortals with his Champion Hurdle successes in 1980 and 1981. He also won five times over fences on Night Nurse, the 1976 and 1977 Champion Hurdle winner, and was on board him in the 1978 Scottish Champion Hurdle that claimed the life of the brilliant Golden Cygnet.

Night Nurse: scored five times over fences with Ian WatkinsonCredit: Gerry Cranham

It was, as the book title suggests, a rollercoaster ride. Born in Newmarket, but with no racing connections, Watkinson worked his way up from the bottom with grit and no little talent. He tasted big-race success, notably on Zeta’s Son in the 1976 Hennessy Gold Cup, and won admiration for his bravery in the saddle, being nicknamed ‘Iron Man Watty’ by weighing-room colleague Steve Smith Eccles.

Off the track his life was just as racy, with a love of women, sports cars and pranks. A whole chapter is devoted to ‘The Women in My Life’, offering their side of the story as well as his, and the colourful anecdotes of this sporting life are vividly told.

But it all came at a price. He faced a constant battle with the scales (“I took amphetamines every day to suppress my appetite,” he reveals), while his willingness to take any ride resulted in a catalogue of injuries that was extensive even for a 1970s jump jockey.

The opening chapter, The Fall, details how his career was ended on March 9, 1979 – days before he was due to have the biggest ride of his life, on Night Nurse in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He had also missed the previous year’s festival with a broken pelvis, robbing him of the chance to partner Alverton in the Arkle and Sea Pigeon in the Champion Hurdle. Alverton won, while Sea Pigeon was second, although Watkinson is adamant he would have won the Champion Hurdle if he had been fit to take the ride.

If there are regrets, and a lingering sense of what might have been, there is no self-pity. He candidly admits his failings and mistakes, while also looking back with pride on his achievements and the life he has made through racing.

Told with the help of his close friend Chris Pitt, the renowned racing historian, Watkinson’s story is embellished by the reminiscences of friends such as Smith Eccles, Bob Champion and John Francome, who describes him as “really the last of that hard type of jockey who would break a collarbone and go out and ride in the next race”.

This book is not just about Watkinson, though; it is also a hymn to a golden past. For those who remember those great days, and equally for anyone who wants to see them brought to life, this is a cracking read.

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