John Tapp Racing

It was the mid 1970’s and Hilton was on a flight from Dublin to Sydney after completing a three year stint with Irish trainer John Oxx. He turned to wife Marilyn and calmly announced that his riding days were over. In this podcast replay the former ace jockey explains why he quit at the top of his game, and recalls  the new life he forged back in Australia. Hilton begins by talking about his lifelong love of golf. He also reveals a love for fishing, a skill he learned from his great mate, the late Norm Munsie. Hilton talks of his amazing mother Vera who was 102 years of age when this podcast was recorded. She’s now 106 and still right on top of her game. The former outstanding jockey has never forgotten the day his father came home with an undernourished pony mare called Flicka- the pony who would trigger his love for riding.  Hilton talks of the horse dentist who looked after Flicka’s teeth. That dentist also had racing connections and was the catalyst in arranging Hilton’s apprenticeship to Rosehill trainer