Pat Dobbs (born 1978) is a Group 1 winning Irish jockey. He is stable jockey for Richard Hannon Jr.
Career
Dobbs was born and brought up in a non-racing family in County Wexford, Ireland. He found racing an enjoyable alternative to school and after entering the apprentices' school in Kildare at 15, he was placed with trainer Dessie Hughes, where he spent three years. Hughes had few flat horses, however, so, at the recommendation of Dessie's son, Richard Hughes, Dobbs got a job with Richard Hannon Sr. in England. He rode for Richard Sr until the older man's retirement and has continued to ride for his son, Richard Jr since.
Throughout his time with the Hannons, Dobbs was normally understudy to Hughes, who became the stable's first choice jockey. To start with, he had been allowed to keep the ride after winning on a horse, but once Hughes was established, “Richard always went to the best meetings and I would work around him.” Dobbs suffered a series of injuries early in his career, and being "painfully shy" didn't speak about his frustration.
Dobbs won some valuable sales races for Richard Sr, and also twice won the Sandown Mile on Hurricane Alan (2004 and 2005), but his biggest win during this time was the Wokingham Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2012 on David Marnane's Dandy Boy.
Richard Hannon Sr. retired in 2013, and once Richard Hughes retired in 2014, Dobbs had more opportunity on better horses. In 2015, he had his first Group 1 success on Pether's Moon in the Coronation Cup, besting French horses Dolniya and Flintshire in the final 100 yards. “It didn’t sink in until much later," he said. "At the time, I was just a bit surprised. It was only 50 yards from the line that I thought he’d win.” Later that day, he also got his first ride in the Derby on Moheet, finishing 10th. Both were Hannon horses. 2015 became his best season to date with 64 winners and, for the first time, over £1 million in prize money. At the time, he spoke of expecting to be able to ride for another ten years.
Since then, he has continued to ride for Richard Jr, winning the 2017 Earl of Sefton Stakes among other things, but owners at the stable have also used younger jockeys like Sean Levey and Cam Hardie. Dobbs has spent a number of winters in Dubai, where he is better known than in Britain, and has won several significant races for American trainer, Doug Watson.
His favourite horse is Hurricane Alan.
Critical opinion
A commentator in The Times spoke of the "absence of expectation and entitlement" in Dobbs. "He is not a man who will stand out in a crowd, either by what he says or how he looks... but mention him around the racing community and there will be nods acknowledging a decent, dependable man, rather than strong opinions about personality or ability."
Statistics
Flat wins in Great Britain by year
Year Wins Runs Strike rate Total earnings 1997 3 17 18 £10,953 1998 11 95 12 £48,578 1999 9 111 8 £56,062 2000 16 155 10 £89,872 2001 40 369 11 £270,653 2002 21 247 9 £164,556 2003 26 349 7 £301,276 2004 19 353 5 £283,495 2005 14 208 7 £256,692 2006 18 253 7 £135,594 2007 38 416 9 £276,235 2008 30 347 9 £429,349 2009 45 377 12 £430,427 2010 49 425 12 £352,379 2011 46 302 15 £343,778 2012 51 377 14 £734,502 2013 47 424 11 £455,593 2014 44 358 12 £509,331 2015 64 521 12 £1,056,669 2016 35 402 9 £623,432 2017 31 347 9 £514,544 2018 18 166 11 £247,506 2019 38 270 14 £771,194 2020 26 248 10 £306,581 2021 30 281 11 £697,805 2022 35 266 13 £1,001,477 2023 22 202 11 £641,901
Major wins Great Britain Coronation Cup - (1) - Pether's Moon (2015)
United Arab Emirates Al Maktoum Challenge - (1) - Kabirkhan (2024)
References