Former British Jockey Lowe Dies at 75 in Australia

Former "Cock O' The North" jockey John Lowe died in a hospital Sept. 21 in Perth, Western Australia, after suffering a stroke. He was 75. Lowe emigrated to Australia with his wife, Gale, two years ago after retiring from riding out at Roger Varian's Newmarket stable to be close to his daughter, Verity, and grandsons, Isaac and Gabriel. The always active Lowe suffered a stroke while pursuing his favorite hobby of gardening Sept. 17 at home and died in a hospital four days later with Gale at his side. Jockeys wore black armbands Sept. 22 in Britain. Speaking from Perth, Gale Lowe said: "John had not long had a knee replacement from which he was recovering well, but he fell over in the garden while he was watering his plants and it was obvious it wasn't that and we got him to hospital. "They blue-lighted him to hospital and said he'd had a stroke. I never left the hospital until he passed away on Monday night." The Lowes had been active since they arrived in 2024 in Australia. Gale added: "It was two years ago on September 5 that we moved here and John loved being around Verity and the boys. He recently took Isaac, who is like a son to us, for his official first pint on his 18th birthday, which meant a lot to him." She pointed out that it had been Father's Day two weeks ago in Australia, when Isaac had written in a card to John: "To a man who is always there for all of us." As a jockey, Lowe rode more than 2,000 winners worldwide, with Cambridgeshire winner Mellottie and French group 1 victor Goodbye Shelley (Prix Marcel Boussac) high up on his list of biggest days. Mountain Cross, who won two races at Royal Ascot in the same week in 1978, provided another highlight. He claimed the Cock O' The North title, an award handed out to the jockey with the most winners at northern tracks during the 1984 flat turf season. Lowe shared a weighing room with Professional Jockeys Association executive director Dale Gibson, who said: "We traveled a fair amount together, particularly after both having heavy falls at Beverley 30 years ago. John's horse crashed through the rails, causing a chain reaction and resulting in a pileup that made Sky News and the News at Ten. "He was one of the best judges of a horse you would ever meet, naturally fit and light, as well as being a superb rider in the north for many years, with additional success in India during the winters, before the all-weather took off in Britain. "He was always chirpy, punctual with a dry sense of humor and without doubt the best driver in the weighing room. He always noted exactly how long it took from weighing room to weighing room when riding at two meetings." Lowe retired from professional race riding in 2000 and became a race reader for the Press Association, while also riding work for Sir Henry Cecil. He sat on some of the greats at Cecil's yard, recalling in 2024: "I rode the Oaks winner Reams Of Verse and Ali-Royal, who won the Sussex, and Dr Fong. The best horse I ever rode at Henry's, however, was Fleetwood, who would have won the Guineas if he hadn't put his foot in a hole on Warren Hill one day." Lowe rode in the Leger Legends race in 2013 at Doncaster and started riding out in 2015 for Varian. He spent a memorable nine years at Carlburg Stables before retiring in 2024 after nearly 60 years in the saddle.