HARRY WHITE
“It seemed Harry didn’t have any problems with whatever horse Dad legged himon. He didn’t have to teach Harry patience, Harry came with that asset the moment he arrived at headquarters. “But it was his lovely nature that we all were amazed at. We had to wake him up before the Melbourne Cup that he won on Hyperno as he’d fallen asleep half an hour before the race. “But that’s what Dad liked – a jockey that didn’t get all upset because he knew that that would translate to the horse. Harry never got upset. He was a great loser and a very humble winner. “When you talk about Hyperno you talk about a special skillset. He [the horse] could do lots and lots of things wrong. We tried everything with him and finally got him back enjoying racing. The placing of Harry on his back was the cherry on the cake,” he said.
In the late nineties after retiring from the saddleWhite confessed that he’d carried a secret that he only revealed on retirement.
“I can tell you this, I had a fall at Caulfield one day, it could have been on Cup Day actually and I lost the sight in my left eye.
“So I went to the surgeon and said this must remain our secret and I managed to get through my career with the use of just one eye,” White revealed in 1996. Sadly in 2003, the same year he was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame, White was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. But without any fanfare, the jockey’s trademark relaxed approach applied to his illness. He quietly worked away and is still not letting the terrible illness overwhelm him.
And nearly all racing lovers around the world who knew and enjoyed his company and his skill are certainly in his corner.
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