Michael Stoute © Photo Healy Racing
The roll call of jockeys to have ridden for Sir Michael Stoute reads like a who’s who of the world’s elite. And for Hall of Famer Gary Stevens there are only unforgettable memories of “the best job in the world” when stable jockey to the great Barbadian.
The Idaho native had already firmly established himself as an American great and landed a plethora of the world’s most prestigious contests by the time Stoute came calling, with Stevens seeing the switch as the ideal way to ease the knee problems which would plague his career.
His spell as number one to the Freemason Lodge handler – who seems highly likely to have the final runner of his long and illustrious career at Nottingham on Wednesday – may have been relatively short-lived, but Stevens would leave Newmarket with memories to cherish and a friendship with a “genius” which has stood the test of time.
“It was the best job in the world and the best job any jockey could ever want,” Stevens told the PA news agency.
“He’s a genius and one of my great friends right to this day, he is like family to me.
“It was the best time in my career and if I have any regrets about my career it was not staying over in the UK longer. I loved my time over there and I loved the racing fans over there, it was really refreshing for me.”
He went on: “I was having a few issues with my knees and I thought racing on turf would be a lot easier on my knees, when in reality it was the opposite with racing on all the undulations and taking horses down to the start by yourself.
“One of the things I most enjoyed was it kept me fresh and I became more of a reactive rider rather than just reading the form and thinking where you should be in a race. You learn to improvise and ride a race as it comes up and have more confidence.
“Michael helped made me become a better rider when I went over and there and I learned from Kieren Fallon, Richard Hughes and Frankie Dettori that there is more than one way to skin a cat. It made me a better rider when I returned to America.”
Stevens’ biggest victory riding for Stoute was arguably the 1999 Duke of Edinburgh Stakes when he donned the royal silks to guide the Queen’s Blueprint to Royal Ascot glory.
Stevens also finished third to Oath in that year’s Derby aboard Beat All and steered future Classic winner King’s Best to Acomb success at York, among other highlights.
Reflecting on his time as a vital cog in Stoute’s Newmarket operation, Stevens speaks of his amazement at the trainer’s memory, while also hailing the confidence he instilled in the jockeys who rode for him.
“The first thing I ever noticed about Michael is he has a photographic memory,” continued Stevens.
“He would be talking to the lads on the gallops giving out riding instructions and a lot of the time he’d be looking down at his hand as if he was reading a sheet of paper, but there was nothing on it. That was amazing to me.”
He added: “We would have our chats in his atrium and he would pour a drink and I would come in and have a beer and we would go over the races I would ride in.
“His thing was he didn’t go to the races unless it was a really good maiden or a Group race or whatever and he would always say ‘my work is done, it’s over to you’.
“He had a great sense of humour and so much trust in his riders. He 100 per cent trusted us and I was able to speak with him more forwardly than any trainer I had ridden for before and since.
“You would call him up after a race and tell him about a horse and he would just say to call up the racing manager and tell them exactly what you just told me – I loved the transparency and I was allowed to be very candid.”
Stevens departure, when accepting a retainer for the Thoroughbred Corporation that would see him return to America, coincided with Fallon’s installation into the Freemason Lodge hotseat.
The American’s loss would be Fallon’s gain, as Stoute’s association with the six-time champion jockey resulted in multiple Classic wins in unison over the coming years.
However, Stevens remembers in fact he helped instigate the arrangement during a round of golf with his weighing-room contemporaries.
He explained: “I remember the last day Kieren rode a horse for Henry (Cecil) and there was all the controversy and newspaper articles. We had just finished at Glorious Goodwood and myself, Frankie, Kieren and Richard were heading out to play 18 holes of golf.
“I had just been up in my room at the hotel and I had been on the phone with Richard Mulhall who was the racing manager for Prince Ahmed’s Thoroughbred Corporation. He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.
“It was a 15-20 minute conversation and as I was walking down to the pro-shop my mobile rang and it was Michael and how he knew I don’t know to this day.
“He said ‘I know you’re going to go back to America and I know you’re going to go play golf with Kieren right now, ask Kieren if he wants the job’.
“Kieren and I were in the same golf buggy and as I was driving down the first fairway I just asked him ‘do you want a job’ and he asked what job and I said ‘my job’. He couldn’t believe it – I told him the job was his if he wanted it and the rest is history.”
