Legendary jockey Darby McCarthy's flying Canberra visit a massive winner

That sums up the only time legendary Indigenous jockey Richard "Darby" McCarthy rode at Canberra's Thoroughbred Park.

It was a big deal in 1967, having just returned from riding in France and with big-race wins in Brisbane under his belt.

He ended up with wins in three Stradbroke Handicaps, the Brisbane Cup and Doomben 10,000, as well as the AJC Derby and Epsom Handicap.

His trip to Canberra came to light following his death on Thursday, when he was flown in to ride for Canberra trainer Glen Coady.

McCarthy was not only known as one of the best jockeys going around, but also for enjoying a drink.

MORE CANBERRA SPORT

It's rumoured it took him a few days to get home after leaving Canberra with a wallet full of cash.

He'd played his part for Coady, guiding Montito to victory in the Flying Handicap and saluting on Prince Tim in a maiden.

That netted Coady about $20,000 from the bookies, with McCarthy leaving Canberra with a $2000 cut - a hefty amount back then and one that seemingly slowed down his trip home.

He'd been brought to the ACT to ride Forgive in the Texas Handicap - a race put on by then USA ambassador Ed Clark - because Coady's usual jockey Keith Smith was on his honeymoon having married the week before.

Coady's son Geoff recalled picking McCarthy up from the airport ahead of the big day.

"I was a pretty young fella at the time when he came," Geoff recalled.

"Dad had a 1967 Pontiac Parisienne, a big car, and he picked Darby up at the airport. It was a bit of a thrill for me to meet him.

"We went to the races and in those days there were 30 local bookmakers in the ring at Canberra, and you could back a horse to win a lot of money.

"Dad wasn't afraid to have a bet and he had a few punters as well. They won many thousands of dollars that day, I think they won in excess of $20,000, which was a lot of money back then.

"He gave Darby McCarthy $2000 on the way back to the airport and he had a couple of scotches in the bar with him before he got on the plane."

McCarthy was born in Cunnamulla, in the Queensland bush, in 1946 and rode his first winner in his very first race - as a 10-year-old.

From there he moved to Brisbane and also rode in Sydney, where he was living when he made his one and only trip to Canberra - although The Canberra Times reported at the time McCarthy planned to team up with Coady more if he had some suitable rides.