Lovable, humorous, entertaining, informative, loyal and decent and that’s only a start. These were some of the many adjectives used by friends and associates last week as they paid tribute to “Jock” Gollogly who died in Newcastle at age 72 following a short illness. The racing world was fortunate to have had him for seventy two years. Old mates say it was nowhere near long enough.
“Jock” was the first to tell you he wasn’t the best jockey in the world. Good judges over the years said he was far from the worst. As a junior he won a Brisbane apprentice’s premiership. As a senior he won a Newcastle jockey’s premiership. In between times he bagged himself a Group 1 and to a Queenslander it was a proper Group 1 - the 1972 Doomben $10,000 on Bengalla Lad trained by his maternal grandfather Fred Best.
He was lured to Newcastle by trainer Eric Sandford in the late 1970’s destined never to leave his adopted city. In post riding days he quickly made a name for himself as a reliable Newcastle media contributor. His services were utilised over the years by such notable outlets as the Newcastle Herald, Sportsman, Prime TV, and Radio 2KY. If a horse was trained within a 100km radius of Newcastle, “Jock” had it on his radar. In more recent years he’d become a respected track clocker for his great friend Kris Lees who puts a large number of horses through their paces six mornings a week at Broadmeadow.
No need for me to go too deeply into the “Jock” Gollogly story in this space. Far better to let him tell the story in his own inimitable style. Just over two years ago he paid me the compliment of joining our regular Supernova Sound podcast. In posting a repeat presentation of that interview we extend sincere condolences to his long time partner Lindsay.
Please click the link below to share Jock’s” reflections of his remarkable life in racing.
The Gollogly smile was never far away - courtesy Bradley Photogaphers.