The Yorkshire Post says: George Duffield is a Leger legend

FOR a jockey who was told that he was 'bloody useless' after riding his first winner in 1967, jockey George Duffield has shown remarkable resilience.

By The Newsroom

Published 13th Sep 2017, 12:18 BST

Updated 27th Sep 2017, 11:34 BST

How no-nonsense trainer Jack Waugh put George Duffield on right track to success

Fifty years, and 2,547 winners, later, the Yorkshire miner’s son is back in the saddle today at Doncaster. He’s one of the retired riders taking part in the annual Leger Legends race that, since its inception in 2010, has raised more than £775,000 for the Northern Racing College and Jack Berry House, the Injured Jockeys Fund’s rehab centre in Malton.

Now the precursor to the St Leger meeting, the importance of these two racing charities should not be under-estimated to racing or Yorkshire. And nor should the perseverance of George Duffield – a waif-like figure who left home at the age of 15 and kept striving to improve himself for three decades before finally winning the St Leger 25 years ago on the remarkable User Friendly. Victory today would be a fitting finale to a racing career that continues to be defined by its sheer cussedness.