Pat Dobbs

Pat Dobbs
Dobbs going to post on Coronation Cup winner Pethers Moon
Occupation	Jockey
Born	(1978-02-06) 6 February 1978 Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland
Major racing wins
Coronation Cup (2015) Al Maktoum Challenge
Significant horses
Pether's Moon

Pat Dobbs (born 1978) is a Group 1 winning Irish jockey. He is stable jockey for Richard Hannon Jr.

Career

Dobbs was born and brought up in a non-racing family in County Wexford, Ireland. He found racing an enjoyable alternative to school and after entering the apprentices' school in Kildare at 15, he was placed with trainer Dessie Hughes, where he spent three years. Hughes had few flat horses, however, so, at the recommendation of Dessie's son, Richard Hughes, Dobbs got a job with Richard Hannon Sr. in England. He rode for Richard Sr until the older man's retirement and has continued to ride for his son, Richard Jr since.

Throughout his time with the Hannons, Dobbs was normally understudy to Hughes, who became the stable's first choice jockey. To start with, he had been allowed to keep the ride after winning on a horse, but once Hughes was established, “Richard always went to the best meetings and I would work around him.” Dobbs suffered a series of injuries early in his career, and being "painfully shy" didn't speak about his frustration.

Pat Dobbs going to post on Moheet, his first Derby ride

Dobbs won some valuable sales races for Richard Sr, and also twice won the Sandown Mile on Hurricane Alan (2004 and 2005), but his biggest win during this time was the Wokingham Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2012 on David Marnane's Dandy Boy.

Richard Hannon Sr. retired in 2013, and once Richard Hughes retired in 2014, Dobbs had more opportunity on better horses. In 2015, he had his first Group 1 success on Pether's Moon in the Coronation Cup, besting French horses Dolniya and Flintshire in the final 100 yards. “It didn’t sink in until much later," he said. "At the time, I was just a bit surprised. It was only 50 yards from the line that I thought he’d win.” Later that day, he also got his first ride in the Derby on Moheet, finishing 10th. Both were Hannon horses. 2015 became his best season to date with 64 winners and, for the first time, over £1 million in prize money. At the time, he spoke of expecting to be able to ride for another ten years.

Since then, he has continued to ride for Richard Jr, winning the 2017 Earl of Sefton Stakes among other things, but owners at the stable have also used younger jockeys like Sean Levey and Cam Hardie. Dobbs has spent a number of winters in Dubai, where he is better known than in Britain, and has won several significant races for American trainer, Doug Watson.

His favourite horse is Hurricane Alan.

Critical opinion

A commentator in The Times spoke of the "absence of expectation and entitlement" in Dobbs. "He is not a man who will stand out in a crowd, either by what he says or how he looks... but mention him around the racing community and there will be nods acknowledging a decent, dependable man, rather than strong opinions about personality or ability."

Statistics

Flat wins in Great Britain by year

Year	Wins	Runs	Strike rate	Total earnings
1997	3	17	18	£10,953
1998	11	95	12	£48,578
1999	9	111	8	£56,062
2000	16	155	10	£89,872
2001	40	369	11	£270,653
2002	21	247	9	£164,556
2003	26	349	7	£301,276
2004	19	353	5	£283,495
2005	14	208	7	£256,692
2006	18	253	7	£135,594
2007	38	416	9	£276,235
2008	30	347	9	£429,349
2009	45	377	12	£430,427
2010	49	425	12	£352,379
2011	46	302	15	£343,778
2012	51	377	14	£734,502
2013	47	424	11	£455,593
2014	44	358	12	£509,331
2015	64	521	12	£1,056,669
2016	35	402	9	£623,432
2017	31	347	9	£514,544
2018	18	166	11	£247,506
2019	38	270	14	£771,194
2020	26	248	10	£306,581
2021	30	281	11	£697,805
2022	35	266	13	£1,001,477
2023	22	202	11	£641,901

Major wins

Great Britain

• Coronation Cup - (1) - Pether's Moon (2015)

United Arab Emirates

• Al Maktoum Challenge - (1) - Kabirkhan (2024)