Tributes to journalist and jockeys' agent Joe Rowntree following his death at 75

Joe Rowntree, long-serving journalist, race-reader and jockey agent has died at the age of 75.

He provided close-ups for the Racing Post from the time it merged with The Sporting Life in 1998 and was working as recently as January of this year.

Rowntree, who was brought up within walking distance of Newcastle racecourse, started in racing on The Sporting Chronicle and went on to run Racing Press Services, an agency serving local papers from Southampton to Edinburgh.

He was The Sporting Life's first northern-based racecourse staff man and also guided a young Jimmy Fortune to the apprentices' title in 1990.

"He was my agent for a couple of years and we had great fun together," the jockey recalled. "He was a good guy and did well for me.

"He knew all his horses well – he worked in the press office pretty much all his life and he knew all the ins and outs. He got on well with trainers, that was the real bonus."

The highlight of their time together was Joveworth's 50-1 win in the Ayr Gold Cup.

"The horse had been working the house down and when the ground went heavy we thought he had a right chance," Fortune said. "Joe was never afraid to back his judgement and I rode another winner that day on Towny Boy for Malcolm Jefferson, lord have mercy on him.

"He was 25-1 and it was a big-priced double – I think Joe went home looking like the Michelin Man he had so much money in his coat!"

Former jockey Ollie Pears, who is now a trainer, was another protege of Rowntree's and he said: "I had massive respect for him, he knew his way round the form and he got me some good rides.

"And he was a very good friend over the years, I had tremendous advice from him and he was always there for me. He was like a father figure to me."