Chris Parnham’s four win haul at Ascot on Saturday was almost certainly Australia’s best riding performance numerically. At Rosehill Gardens James McDonald calmly snared a black type treble including the Gr 1 Coolmore Classic on Zougotcha. At Caulfield Mark Zahra continued his recent hot run of form with three winners for high profile stables. Far away from the hype of the major city tracks a remarkable veteran was calmly plying his trade at Kempsey on the NSW mid north coast. From a full book of six rides, Jon Grisedale won three races and finished a close second in another.
For those who fail to see the significance of Grisedale’s feat, may I remind you that the Coffs Harbour based rider turned 60 last October - many years the senior of the aforementioned jockeys. Perhaps the only active Australian rider older than Grisedale is Mt. Isa’s Keith Ballard who’s still commanding regular rides on north west Queensland tracks at age 70. To Jon Grisedale age is just a number. He looks nothing like 60, his weight is stable, his health robust and his dedication unimpaired. He rides up to fourteen horses in trackwork six mornings a week. By the conclusion of the Armidale meeting on Monday March 18th, he’d ridden in thirty races on northern tracks since the beginning of the month. The man is a marvel.
Kempsey racegoers with no knowledge of his history would ever have picked him for a sixty year old as he fulfilled commitments in all six races. He finished the closest of seconds on Give It A Nudge in the first race, before winning the 1900m BM 50 on Pushkin for his wife Donna. Later in the day he was seen at his best in winning on Prefer To Be Ready for Jay Hopkins, and Doolie for Jonathan Smith. The indefatigable Grisedale had five rides at Grafton on Sunday for a couple of placings, and backed up again at Armidale on Monday where his five rides yielded a win on Fools Play and two placings. That trip required some five hours on the road.
Jon makes it a treble on Doolie in the 1450m BM50 at Kempsey - courtesy Trackside Photography
The veteran jockey’s dedication to his craft is greatly admired by Donna Grisedale who trains a fifteen horse team from stables situated on the Coffs Harbour racecourse. The couple met some seventeen years ago when Jon was riding regularly for the Chris Waller stable at Rosehill. Donna by this time was working as a trackwork rider for Waller, after having spent a valuable decade in the employ of the legendary Jack Denham. Donna’s training career began at Kembla Grange and not surprisingly her future husband became her stable rider.
The situation changed dramatically in 2013 when Jon suffered a complicated leg break in a mounting yard incident at Kembla. Once over the injury he made the decision to call time on his riding career and assume the role of stable foreman. A year later he opted to make a casual reappearance at trackwork with no serious intention of riding in races again. The weight started to fall off, his rhythm returned and nobody was surprised when the respected jockey donned the silks again. There was one serious race fall at Lismore soon after the couple relocated from Kembla to Coffs Harbour in August 2019. The accident left Jon with fractures to a collar bone, foot and ankle. “It was a pretty nasty one and many thought I’d give it away again,” he said. “They were wrong. I did everything the doctors told me to do, and I was back sooner than expected. I’ve been full steam ahead ever since.”
Jon and Donna have been a successful duo since relocating to Coffs Harbour in 2019 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Coffs Harbour trainers couldn’t believe their luck when Jon Grisedale suddenly became a trackwork regular soon after he and Donna had arrived from Kembla Grange. “I was obviously keen to establish myself on the northern rivers, and riding trackwork was the best way to go about it,” said the vastly experienced horseman. “Not long after starting at Coffs I rode twenty six horses one morning, possibly a world record. I knew I couldn’t keep that up. I’ve now levelled out at fourteen or fifteen. When our own horses are worked I jump on a few for trainers like Brett Bellamy, Brett Dodson, David Matts and Sally Taylor.”
English born Grisedale began his apprenticeship with Rosehill trainer Bede Horan in 1979, and quickly displayed natural talent. He enjoyed a very fruitful apprenticeship and in one particular season beat all but Darren Beadman in the Sydney Apprentice’s Premiership. Around this time he earned wide acclaim when he rode four winners at a Canterbury midweek meeting, a feat rarely achieved by an apprentice. A few years later he was appointed third string rider for the massive Nebo Lodge training operation at Rosehill behind Jim Cassidy and Nigel Tiley. On the frequent occasions when the stable had three or more runners in a city race, Grisedale would ride the third string candidate. He rode the majority of Nebo Lodge provincial runners.
Here's a youthful Jon Grisedale during his apprenticeship to Bede Horan - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
Jon is the first to tell you Marauding was the best horse he rode during the Nebo years. “He raced only eight times, and I got to ride him only once but I’ve never forgotten the experience,” says Grisedale. “Brian Mayfield-Smith put me on at Marauding’s first start in the Silver Slipper. He was a handful at that stage of his career and was beaten half a head by Maizcay. He raced so greenly. He later won the Golden Slipper with Ron Quinton and went on to sire two Slipper winners. He was a huge horse with talent to match.”
The Jon Grisedale toughness was to the fore in the mid 1980’s when he fell ill with a condition called Endocarditis, an infection of the inner lining of the heart. Desperately ill for many months, the jockey lost a kidney during the ordeal. He returned after a full year on the sidelines to quickly regenerate his career. He freelanced successfully for many years with the support of a wide range of trainers.
Jon isn’t the only talented rider to have missed out on winning a Gr 1 race, but you’ll find a number of black type wins on his CV. He was thrilled to win the Gr 3 Tramway Hcp in 1991 on Moville Peter for trainer Johnno Johnson. Another favourite was the listed Schweppervescence at Rosehill on Mount Verde for trainer John Wenman. There was a time when he was much sought after by trainers with runners in country Cup races. He looks back on wins in Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange and South Grafton Cups. Jon was one of Chris Waller’s “go-to” jockeys when the New Zealander made his low key start in Sydney racing twenty years ago. He rode regular work for the stable and was on board a number of Waller’s early winners.
Jon unsaddles Moville Peter after a win in the Gr. 3 Tramway Hcp 1991 . Strapper is trainer Jonno Johnson - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
Moville Peter gets the better of Majestic Boy in the closing stages of The Tramway - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
Parnham, McDonald, and Zahra were all deserving of the accolades received for their outstanding achievements on the metropolitan tracks last Saturday. Jamie Mott was seen to advantage with two winners at Caulfield, while Michael Rodd and Anthony Allen also landed doubles at Eagle Farm. None of them rode with more precision than Jon Grisedale displayed on his three winners at Kempsey. None of those horses will reach the annals of the all time great, but Jon is well aware his days of riding expensive bluebloods like Marauding are well behind him.
These days he’s more than happy to push the bush horses around and use his vast experience to help them reach full potential. When asked to nominate a favourite among his current rides the jockey quickly plumped for a four year old Smart Missile gelding called Powder Man, already the winner of three races with seven placings from just thirteen starts. “Donna owns and trains him so I’m under a bit of pressure,” says Jon. “He’s only a pony but tries his heart out and wants to be there. I’ll be surprised if Powder Man doesn’t win a few more races.”
Another win for the Jon and Donna combination - Pushkin wins easily at Kempsey - courtesy Trackside Photography.
(Banner image - Middle leg of Jon's Kempsey treble - Prefer To Be Ready pounces on Battledance close to home in the BM50 - courtesy Trackside Photography.)