Grand National winner turned into a sofa by Olliver

1 Tom Olliver, born in 1812 and one of 16 children, was a jump jockey who finished second in the first ever Grand National and went on the ride the winner of the race three times. His 1843 winner Vanguard was given to him by the grateful owner and, when Vanguard died, Olliver had his hide made into a sofa which is now the property of Aintree racecourse.

Plumpton: one of the Four FsCredit: Alan Crowhurst

2 Long before Ffos Las opened, the jump jockeys of the Biddlecombe-Gifford-Mellor era habitually referred to the Four Fs –Fakenham, Folkestone, Fontwell and f*****g Plumpton.

3 Royal trainer Peter Cazalet, whose stately home Fairlawne in Kent had its own racquets court, was a fearsome martinet with a vehement dislike of cigarettes. On finding a fag-end near the yard one morning he sacked his entire staff because nobody would own up but reinstated them later in the day after discovering the postman was the culprit.

4 Jimmy Uttley was the greatest hurdles jockey of his day and rode the magnificent Persian War to his three Champion Hurdle victories from 1968-70. Uttley, who retired in 1974, never rode over fences and in 14 seasons hurdling never broke a bone.

Peter Craggs: rare jockey with facial hairCredit: Grossick John

5 When permit-trained 33-1 chance King Con won the 1978 Scottish National under amateur Peter Craggs it was his 17th race of the season and he had been out of the frame just once when falling.
Craggs was rarer than an albino blackbird in that he was a jockey who sported a beard. It would be nice to report King Con got home by a whisker but the admirable winner beat Rubstic fair and square by seven lengths.