Sunday 5 January 2014 17:03, UK
Three-times champion National Hunt jockey Terry Biddlecombe has died after a lengthy illness.
Former school teacher Knight and Biddlecombe may not have appeared a match made in heaven but their enduring partnership was an unqualified success both on and off the track. Knight quit the training ranks in May, 2012 to help look after her husband and the horses in her care moved on to Mick Channon, where she still plays an active part in the training of the jumpers. The news was confirmed on Knight's Facebook page with a notification reading: "Sadly, Terry died peacefully after breakfast this morning with Henrietta by his side." Channon has been with Knight throughout the morning and admits the news is difficult to take. He said: "I have known Terry for a while now, not as long as some of the older jockeys, obviously, but he was a great man and in the time I've known him he became a great friend. "Since the stroke it has been very difficult for everybody, but Hen has been absolutely amazing through it all. "They were such a fantastic couple and Hen has been such a devoted carer and wife. They were totally dedicated to each other. "Terry was a great character and a great friend and it's just very sad. He will be sadly missed by everyone. I'm a bit choked up about it. I don't know what else to say." Davies, now clerk of the course at Ludlow, looked backed fondly on his time spent with his former weighing room colleague and said: "We shared the title in 1968-69 and I think Terry was second to me the following season. "When we shared the title, in the second half of the season I stayed with Terry most of the time, so we usually went racing together. "The season went on into June that year because of Foot And Mouth disease and I remember it finished on a night at Uttoxeter. "After the season finished we went on holiday together and had a great time. We had some great times together." As the owner of Best Mate, Champion Chase and King George hero Edredon Bleu and the talented Impek, Jim Lewis enjoyed a long-term friendship with Biddlecombe and Knight. Lewis said: "It is awful news and I want to pass on my love and sympathies to Henrietta, both from myself and Jennifer (wife). "Terry was a major part of the success I had as an owner with Best Mate, Edredon Bleu and Impek. His input was vital to the victories we secured. "People called them the odd couple, but in actual fact, there was nothing odd about them at all. They were simply madly in love with each other. "It was an honour and a privilege to be with Terry for some of his greatest triumphs out of the saddle." The tributes on Twitter are unsurprisingly widespread, with eight-times champion jockey Peter Scudamore saying on his feed: "Sorry to hear of the death of Terry a real hero who walked with kings and filled the unforgiving minute ." Dominic Elsworth rides the majority of the jumping string Channon inherited from Knight. He said: "Forever indebted to Terry Biddlecombe! Always gave me time for advice, and was a great man to listen to. A true legend!! R.I.P." Mick Fitzgerald was a leading jockey in Britain for a well over a decade before his retirement in 2008. He told At The Races: "It's a very sad day and I owe Terry Biddlecombe a debt of gratitude that words can't even express. "When I got the job as stable jockey for Nicky Henderson, I made a lot of mistakes and Nicky got me to sit down with Terry on numerous occasions. "He went through videos of races with me and helped me become the jockey that I turned out to be. "He inspired me to become a jockey's coach, which I am now. I try and pass on a bit of the information and a bit of help that Terry Biddlecombe gave to me. "I want to pass on my sincere sympathy to his family and Henrietta Knight. They were inseparable and my thoughts are very much with her and Terry's family."
