Roy Higgins is one of Australia’s greatest living jockeys. By the time of his retirement in 1983, he had ridden 2,300 winners during the 1960s and 1970s, including two Melbourne Cups. Higgins remains closely associated with the racing industry and is the author of the 1982 book “The Jockey Who Laughed,” a humorous collection of racing stories.
Higgins was born in the Victorian town of Koondrook in 1938. He began his racing career in Deniliquin, NSW in 1953 riding on the country racing circuit. He probably owes his nickname “The Professor” to local horse trainer Jim Watters, a comment on his incredible ability in the saddle. Higgins later moved to Melbourne and became Victoria’s most successful jockey of the day by winning eleven Melbourne Jockey Premierships, the first in the 1964/5 season.
From the beginning of his career, Higgins struggled with his weight. He would use tricks like hot baths and saunas to get his weight down to 110 pounds on race day. As at that time the races were only on Saturdays, he took advantage of Sunday to have the traditional Sunday roast and put on five or six kilos that he would then have to lose again before the races the following Saturday. Despite his weight problems, Higgins was a standout jockey for 30 years. When asked what he would do when he retired, he said, “I’d love to be a fat little man!”
Higgins successfully rode over 2,300 winners, including two Melbourne Cups, both on horses trained by Bart Cummings and bred in New Zealand: Light Fingers in 1965 and Red Handed in 1967. Other well-known horses associated with Higgins included the miler Gunsynd, Leilani (partially owned by Andrew Peacock) and Storm Queen. In fact, Higgins could have won three Melbourne Cups, he was the jockey of another Cummings-trained horse, Big Philou, the best betting pick, for the 1969 Melbourne Cup, which was controversially withdrawn just minutes before kick-off, doping victim. Indignation.
During his 30-year career Higgins won every major race in Australia, often multiple times. Notable Victorian victories included: WS Cox Plate, Caulfield Cup, four VRC Derbies, four Blue Diamonds Stakes, and five VRC Oakes. Interstate Higgins won the 1962 and 1969 Sydney Cups, two Golden Slipper Stakes (1966, 1973), and the AJC Oaks six times. Higgins’ last trip was at Flemington in October 1983.
In 1972, Queen Elizabeth awarded Roy Higgins an MBE for his services to the horse racing industry. Since retiring as a jockey, Higgins has worked extensively as a race commentator on television and radio, particularly on Melbourne’s Sport 927 station. He is also a teacher in the jockey training program at Melbourne’s North TAFE Institute.
Roy Higgins has certainly earned his place in Australian racing history. Yet you wonder if he would have gotten off to a start today as a 14-year-old dropout who struggled with his career weight for his entire career. The longevity and success of his career say as much about the man’s determination as it does about his skills as a jockey.