John Tapp Racing

Jon Grisedale tried to quit the saddle when he suffered a complicated leg break at Kembla Grange in 2013. He actually announced his retirement but couldn’t resist the urge to start riding trackwork again.  Eight years down the track he’s enjoying his job more than ever. He begins by acknowledging the long priced winner he rode on the Gold Coast on Saturday for veteran trainer Lennie Wheeler. Jon explains the reason he and his wife Donna moved from Kembla to Coffs Harbour in 2018.  He talks of the wonderful facilities available to trainers at the Coffs racecourse and the nearby beach. The evergreen jockey talks of Donna’s ten year stint with the legendary Jack Denham. She credits her training career to the lessons learned in that decade. Jon talks of his passion for riding trackwork. Six mornings a week he handles 15 or 16 horses. One day recently he went beyond that number. The jockey talks of his English roots and his original apprenticeship to Bede Horan- the man who moulded his career.  Jon looks b