Matt Chapman posted this earlier, which suggests there was more going on in Pat's life sadly: "Totally gutted about Pat Eddery. Knew him well. He needed help. For years he has needed help and was fading away. A hero of mine. A hero in the saddle to most. Not a stylish rider - but crazily brilliant. A funny, witty man in and out of the saddle. Always playing games on others - always amusing. A sporting legend. #dancingbrave #pebbles #elgransenor #goldenfleece #silverpatriarch #sadlerswells #willmissyoupat"
Racing Post report Lester Piggott tribute Richard Hughes tribute John Dunlop tribute Pat Eddery. The man who was born to ride Pat Eddery. 5 of the best please log in to view this image Pat Eddery: possessed "the most beautiful hands ever seen on a jockey" PICTURE: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)
I'd suspect it was the demon drink too. He was a bit of a womaniser by all accounts too, "lots of little Eddery's in Newmarket" as one of my colleagues put it.
I like the pics being posted of Pat Eddery. There is something rather heartwarming about them, he had a lovely smile. Those who knew the man have had some rather ice things to say about him, one that he was fun to be around. But the man seems to have had a steely persona once out on the course. A reporter once wrote, that on return to the enclosure, Pat sometimes had the look of an undertaker with a tooth ache. He must have been an amazing man.
He had,according to some publications,been battling a long term illness which seems like it could have been alcoholism. He did look rather failed,much older than his 63 years and had a well developed rosacea.
His daughter Natasha posted this on Instagram this morning: "Filled with grief this morning that my dad Pat Eddery is no longer here. It's been five years since I last saw, we stayed In touch and spoke on the phone, I never missed a birthday etc and not a day went by when I didn't think about him. The last time I saw him face to face was when I brought him home from rehab and he drank straight away. I turned to him and said "dad if you choose to drink over health and family, I can't be part of that life for you." Sadly his addiction was too strong and he couldn't overcome it. My sibling and his close friends did all we could to help him battle his illness, but we lost in the end. It has been so sad to witness his decline and my siblings and I knew that we would loose him to his demon drink. But that said, I loved him so much and I had probably the best childhood anyone could ask for. I was so proud and still am so proud to be his daughter, he was an amazing jockey, father and husband, but in the end he was taken over by a terrible disease. I don't think of that man, the alcoholic, he wasn't my dad. My dad was kind, sweet, emotional and, while he never said much, I know he loved us all very much"
I hadn't realised but the Racing Post have also put it on their website. I guess no one wanted to say anything in the press until the family did. I just hope that racing acknowledges that alcoholism is a big problem in the industry, not just in the weighing room but from trainers right down to the stable staff - you only need to walk down Newmarket High Street at lunchtime on a weekday to see the pubs full of lads/lasses drinking away their time until evening stables.
That's a bit worrying; Surely, anyone who has been drinking shouldn't be allowed near horses. Apart from the potential for error/negligence, there is also their own safety at risk
Ron, there is plenty of jockeys that have and still do use the demon drink simply to keep their weights down.
Wasn't it Lester that said his breakfast consisted of champagne and cigars? Kieron Fallon, Richard Hughes and Timmy Murphy are just three I can think of off the top of my head that have admitted to having drinking problems in recent years, and I'm sure there are many more. There's been a lot of focus on teaching the young jockeys about the right nutrition and how to eat properly whilst keeping their weight down but I can certainly name at least one young jockey with a high profile job that a friend has witnessed "flipping" meals.
Going back to the drinking culture in Newmarket, it is a problem, perhaps more so in the older generation than the youngsters today but it is there. The key problem for a lot of them is boredom. They finish work (if they're not at the races) by 11/12 and don't have to be back in the yard till 3/4, so they go to the pub with their mates. Newmarket also had (maybe still has) a big drug problem, again the boredom combined with the fact that there are horse boxes coming and going through the town all the time...
I had to look that up Princess but there doesn't seem to be much wrong with "meal flipping" "A meal flip is simple. Eat your major meal at lunch and eat a mini-meal (like yogurt and fruit, or a meal replacement, or your own mini creation) at dinner or later in the evening. Done twice a week, this technique seems to mop up small indiscretions that have bumped weight up. It works especially well if paired with evening exercise. And interestingly, when you are prepared for the fact that you are going to have something small and simple for dinner, you don't feel especially hungry Meal flipping works by extending the fasting period that occurs naturally with sleep. During sleep our body has no choice but to burn its own stores for energy."
