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With racing running through his veins, it was always natural for Noel or ‘Harry’ to follow a life in thoroughbred racing. Through generations of racing participants including a smattering of jockeys and trainers, it was clear that Noel and his five siblings would soon follow in their footsteps. Noel grew up in Woodville and was apprenticed to his father John (Jock) Harris who was a successful jockey and trainer over the flat and jumps. Four boys and two girls made for a full house growing up but they shared a common bond, the love of the horse which led to Noel and his siblings all becoming jockeys and later his three brothers all became trainers.
Noel became a licenced jockey at fifteen years old and cites that it was not all peaches and cream and that there was always a lot of pressure. Not only was there the constant pressure to succeed but also that you’re in charge of a five hundred kilo animal that is worth a lot of money. Recalling what he use to live by and tells the apprentices he mentors that you’re only as good as your last winner and that one win isn’t good enough to keep striving for more. At only eighteen years old he ran 2nd in the Melbourne Cup. He also has seen how times have changed since he retired and the influence of social media and trolls. Now more than ever it’s so important for jockeys to have a thick skin. But also one thing that will always be the same is that to be a good winner you also have to be a good loser, it’s part and parcel of success.
To get away from the pressure Noel strikes as me someone having the unique ability to be able to switch off. He’ll often get in the car on the way home from the races and ‘re-ride’, what he would change or reflect on rides and what he could have done differently. But even after forty-five years of being in the saddle he still makes mistakes, something no one is immune from.
A special part of racing is the glory and celebration of its victories. One close to my heart is a big, beautiful, strong chestnut mare called Everswindell who won the 2007 New Zealand Cup with Noel onboard. My dad had a small share in the mare along with his golfing buddies and no one would have dreamed on the journey she would take us all on. After the win the celebrations that happened I think would be some of the best and as the young eight-year-old girl I was then, I am probably the only one that remembers the day, let alone the celebrations in the winners’ room! What Noel enjoyed about it most was that we were able to enjoy the victory and celebrate instead of worrying about the next race day approaching shortly. It created a better balance where you could savour the good times because with good times come bad times and you have to enjoy what you can. It was also one of the first ‘big’ syndicates and it showed that anyone could be in a horse and made ownership more approachable and affordable for everyone to be involved in.
Not one to want a huge comeback when Noel decided he was finished in the saddle, that was it. The following Monday he began a new job mentoring the apprentice jockeys through NZTR. Being a jockey is not for the faint-hearted with the travelling, the impact on your body, the wasting to get the weight down and dealing with the highest of highs and then the lowest of lows, it’s a rollercoaster that doesn’t stop. But for all of the bad times, there are so many reasons to celebrate good times. Every time Noel was ready to give it up soon followed success and each year he was winning group races and being at the top level. But when all was said and done and the rides for top horses were coming in, Noel knew within himself that this was the time to stop. So he did, and he hasn’t looked back.
Noel’s wife, Kylie talked him into working with apprentices and it has given him great satisfaction. To see them succeed, Noel feels a part of it and takes great joy from it. Noel credits the senior jockeys he had around him when he joined the ranks that helped him and find that repaying the favour gives him real satisfaction. Important for our upcoming jockeys and the industry is to get as much wisdom passed on to help improve our future young people into having success within the industry. Noel regards the biggest part of his role as getting them to believe in themselves and realizing people, like Noel, are here to help them.
Noel’s biggest success is the success he had in Australia. He had several rides in the Melbourne Cup including 2nd,3rd, and 4th placing, he won eight group ones in Australia including a Victoria Oaks and South Australian Derby and forty-five in total but the one that stands out was the Cox plate he won in 1988 on Poetic Prince, trained by John Wheeler. Noel also won a premiership in Singapore. In 2018 he was inducted into the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame for his successes.
His greatest joy was his win in the cox plate, the 2nd place in the Melbourne Cup he got as an eighteen-year-old left a somewhat bitter taste as his dad trained the horse and he credits the win in the cox plate as his redemption win. Winning the premiership in both New Zealand and Singapore bought him a lot of joy as well. Now his joy has changed to seeing the successes the apprentices have and any win they have is like a win for Noel. He has 6 new apprentices this season and they’ve all had a win which you can hear the satisfaction it brings Noel.
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