Edgar Britt who earned fame and fortune as a jockey celebrated his 100^th birthday yesterday.

He was apprenticed to Mick Polson at Randwick at the time of the great depression, and the era of Phar Lap.

He later travelled with Polson when he took Winooka to the west cost of America for a series of match races.

Britt didn’t ride Winooka in any of the match races, nor did he get many on his return, there was a wealth of top jockeys in Sydney in that era.

There was an old quote; if an owner threw his colours into the jockey’s room he wouldn’t complain who picked them up.

It didn’t take long for Britt to realise that while India was then under British rule, racing was flourishing, there was big money to be made.

Britt fell into a lucrative position as first rider for the wealthy Maharaja of Baroda, he maintained big stables in both India, and Newmarket, in England.

He won seven classics in the U K, the first on Sayajiroa in the St Leger for the Maharaja, trained by Sam Armstrong.

The St Leger followed the next year when he won on Black Tarquin, raced by William Woodard and trained by Cecil Boyd-Rochfort.

Britt accepted a retainer to ride for the Boyd-Rochfort Stable, it proved a great association resulting in a number of winners.