Patrick Husbands – Thoroughbred Racing Jockey
Patrick Husbands is hot to trot on the thoroughbred horse racing scene in both Canada and Barbados, with perhaps one of the most impressive number of wins of any Barbadian jockey.
Born in 1973 in Bridgetown, Barbados, Patrick Husbands grew up near the historic Garrison Savannah racetrack and started riding from just five years old under the tuition of his father, Walter Husbands, who ran a riding school and was also a jockey.
Patrick and his two older brothers, Simon, the eldest, and Anthony, all benefitted from being exposed to riding almost as soon as they could walk. This combined with their riding genes, hard work and determination has led them to all ride competitively.
In 1990 Patrick won his first victory at the tender age of just 16 when he became the youngest jockey to ever win The Cockspur Cup (now Sandy Lane) at The Garrison Savannah; after this unprecedented success, Patrick continued to ride on a sea of victory, and by the end of the 1990 season, Patrick had won 32 races, leading him to be crowned Champion Jockey of Barbados.
Following this, in 1994 Patrick took on his next challenge – the Canadian racing circuit.
Patrick Husbands Woodbine Racing Profile
He won 12 races in his first year and 50 in his next. His Canadian wins continued to grow, and in 1999 he won his first Sovereign Award as Canada’s top jockey.
Other wins in his glittering career on the Canadian circuit include:
» The 2003 Canadian Triple Crown.
» The $1 million 2001 Woodbine Mile at Woodbine racetrack in Toronto Canada.
» The 2001 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park in New York.
» Three straight wins between 2004 and 2006 at Sir Barton Stakes.
» Patrick was voted the Sovereign Award for Outstanding jockey for four straight years between 1999 and 2002 and was voted in again in 2008.
» In 2008 he won his fifth riding title at Woodbine Racetrack.
» In 2009 he was victorious at Woodbine racetrack again.
Patrick was honored in Barbados for his 2003 Canadian Triple Crown victory, and the Barbados Government awarded Husbands the Barbados Service Star (BSS) in the country’s Independence Day honors’ list.
Patrick Husbands now lives in Ontario, Canada and is 38 years old (2011).
— Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Husbands
Author: Brett Callaghan
