Racing communities around the world are mourning Tony Ives, one of the greatest and most popular international jockeys of recent decades who has died in Thailand at the age of 74 following a lengthy period of ill health.Ives was born in Westow, near Malton, in February 1952 and, although he started his apprenticeship in Co. Durham with Arthur Stephenson, he soon transferred to Stanley 'Snowy' Wainwright, then one of the leading trainers in the Malton area. Ives's first notable job was as stable jockey to Reg Hollinshead, who was arguably Britain's greatest tutor of apprentices during the latter years of the 1970s. For Hollinshead, Ives rode the first top-class horse with whom he was associated, Remainder Man, who was second in the 2,000 Guineas and third in the Derby in 1978.Having ridden for one master trainer, Ives then took a retainer for another, one whose standards were, if possible, even higher. Bill O'Gorman was the perfectionists' perfectionist and is a man who has never suffered fools, gladly or otherwise. There can be no higher tribute to Tony Ives than that one could describe his partnership with O'Gorman as a match made in heaven.During the early '80s, O'Gorman and Ives repeatedly won with a succession of terrific two-year-olds and/or sprinters. Provideo (Godswalk), who set a 20th century record and equaled The Bard's all-time record by winning 16 races as a two-year-old in 1984, was the most obvious simply because he was named 'Horse of the Year' by both Timeform and The Racegoers Club.An equally notable two-year-old sprinter was Brondesbury (Welsh Saint), who won six of his seven races in 1982. Those six victories included the Brocklesby and the Norfolk Stakes, in both of which he set a new track record. The pair's other stars included Superlative (Nebbiolo), winner of the 1983 July Stakes and Mummy's Game (Mummy's Pet), who won the Temple Stakes in 1982.Ives's successes with O'Gorman brought his skills to the attention of a wider audience and led to his greatest victory. He became the regular rider of Lord Derby's massive gelding Teleprompter (Welsh Pageant), trained in North Yorkshire by Bill Watts. The pair landed one of the most famous British overseas victories when taking the GI Arlington Million in Chicago in 1985, the prize-money for which success, on top of his previous winnings, made Teleprompter the highest-earning British-trained racehorse up to that time.The exploits of Teleprompter and of another mighty gelding (Lord Halifax's Bedtime, trained by Dick Hern) prompted a change in the rule which barred geldings from all Group 1 races, the majority of which were opened up in 1986 (in which year both Teleprompter and Bedtime broke fresh ground by contesting the Eclipse Stakes, won that year by Dancing Brave).Ives's final great associations in England came during the second half of the decade. Firstly, he spent a couple of years as stable jockey to Ian Balding, the highlight of which was his partnership with Paul Mellon's mighty midget Forest Flower (Green Forest). Together they won the Cherry Hinton Stakes and (fittingly) the Mill Reef Stakes in 1986, and the Irish 1,000 Guineas the following spring.Finally, Ives became Lester Piggott's jockey of choice when the great man retired from race-riding for the first time to become a trainer in Newmarket.Arguably as satisfying as any Pattern race triumphs for the jockey, though, were his three victories in the John Smith's Magnet Cup H., then one of the most prestigious races at what had been his local track during childhood, York. He landed the famous handicap in both 1985 and 1986 on the Robert Williams-trained Chaumiere and on the Michael Stoute-trained Icona in 1989. He later reflected, “The Magnet Cups were extra special as it was unbelievable to do that in a big race at your local track. The first year was the best as I actually rode a four-timer that afternoon.”Towards the end of the decade, Ives accepted a position as a club jockey with the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club, where he quickly established himself as one of the leading riders. A highlight of his time there was the victory of the champion sprinter Quicken Away (General Assembly) in the G1 Chairman's Sprint Prize in 1991, a ride which he picked up when the Irish-bred gelding's regular jockey Nigel Tiley became unavailable.Back trouble forced Tony Ives to call time on his riding career when based in Macau in 1996, something which he shrugged off as “just an accumulation of old age and wear and tear”. By this time, the Far East had become home for him and for many years he continued to work at the track in Macau, as assistant trainer to his former weighing-room colleague Geoff Allendorf and for the Macau Jockey Club both as the starter and as a tutor in the apprentices' academy.Tony Ives will be remembered by many racegoers for his partnerships with such wonderful horses as Remainder Man, Provideo, Brondesbury, Teleprompter and Forest Flower; and for his associations with some of the game's greats including Reg Hollinshead, Bill O'Gorman, Ian Balding and Lester Piggott. What will always stand out most strongly in the minds of those who knew him best, though, will be his personality. He was an exceptionally pleasant and friendly man whose kindness never wavered and smile never faded even during his final years when ill health was making life difficult for him. We send our condolences to his family and many friends. 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