Welsh jockey great and Derby winner Lewis dies aged 89

The only Welshman to ride a Derby winner, jockey legend Geoff Lewis, has passed away at the age of 89.

Lewis rode Mill Reef to victory at Epsom in 1971, cementing his place as one of Wales’ sporting greats.

Lewis, who was a prominent jockey on the flat from Talgarth, near Brecon, won five Classics and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in 1971, also on Mill Reef.

One of the best seasons in saddle riding has ever been crowned with winning the Derby in 1971.

With Mill Reef, he won the Derby, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot, and the Paris Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, victories that are still etched in the sport’s history.

He also won the Lockinge, Coronation, the Oaks, and the Coronation Cup, effectively putting him on the verge of a lifetime.

Although Lewis’ family moved to London when he was a boy, his relationship with Wales endured forever.

Before jump jockey Tim Molony saw his build and suggested he try racing, he began his racing career at the Waldorf Hotel where he worked as a page boy.

He quickly rose up the ranks and rode his first winner at Epsom in 1953 as a trainee to Ron Smyth.

He had won big-race victories for Sir Winston Churchill and Queen Elizabeth II by the time he was first jockey at Kingsclere in 1957.

Mill Reef, the young colt who propelled a Welshman to racing immortality, was Mill Reef’s persona.

Lewis then won 880 victories in Britain, twice as a jockey as well as five Classic victories, and then partner one more.

After retiring as a jockey, Lewis turned his attention to reining and achieving success once more.

His stable, which was based in Epsom, included world champion sprinter Lake Coniston, who won the 1995 July Cup.

Lewis received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Welsh Horseback riding Awards in Cardiff in November 2024 as a celebration of his lifelong contribution to Welsh sport.

His daughter Mary, his grandchildren Lucie, and Alex collected the award on his behalf because he was too ill to show up in person.