A Day Out With Tough Duff

Saturday afternoon I had lunch with my comrades from Down The Stretch at the Favourites lounge at Woodbine, and sat in on an interview with Lloyd Duffy. Lloyd was a staple of the jockey contingent at Greenwood and Woodbine throughout my childhood in the 1980s and early 1990s. Born in 1944, Duffy won his first race in Ontario in 1967 after making the transition from driving standardbreds to thoroughbreds going on to win over 2000 races.

>

From the age of nine onward, I would accompany my Dad to the track on Sundays to watch the stakes races, and like most kids of that age - I loved to collect autographs. After a race would end, I would go sprinting down to the back paddock and get the jockeys to sign my program before they disappeared into the jock's room. I wrote about this in Woodbine's 50th Anniversary Magazine . I've kept these programs with me through several moves and now 21 years later, I was able to present Lloyd with a program he signed for me on May 18, 1987. Lloyd, all those years earlier, had signed his name to the top of the 6th race where he had ridden Dance Over Ice in a race against soon to be Queen's Plate champ Market Control. Lloyd couldn't remember this specific race, but he remembered Market Control very well. I happened to have the Plate program from that year with me as well, which featured Andrew and Fergie on the cover while the Plate itself featured some prominent racing names both human and equine.

Lloyd had the mount on the Sam-Son filly Hangin' On A Star who would later go on to win the Breeders. Also featured this year was Afleet, Bold Executive and the recently renamed Bold Revenue who had previously thrilled fans as Fozzie Bear before the lawyers got involved to force a name change. The race featured local stars such as Don Seymour, Sandy Hawley and Robin Platts, as well as the legendary William Shoemaker who was brought in to ride One From Heaven. Lloyd seemed to enjoy flipping through the programs and seeing names like Roger Attfield and Glenn Magnusson brought back plenty of great memories from Lloyd's glory days.



While Lloyd identified Deputy Minister as the best horse he ever had the pleasure to ride, he seemed to speak most fondly of the big grey Frost King . Lloyd was robbed of a potential Queen's Plate win in 1981 when Wayover bumped, and knocked the air out of, Frost King in the stretch run allowing Fiddle Dancer Boy to race home a winner. Despite the controversy, Lloyd does not come across as being bitter about the race, in fact, he just jumped right in to talking about his experience finishing second to Mairzy Doates with Frost King in the first ever Japan Cup. I suppose someone who has won over 2000 races, doesn't sweat too much about a loss here or there.

It was great to sit down with a local legend, and greater still to hear his mischievous laugh as he recanted stories of races he won which still bring him great pleasure to this day. The pride Lloyd felt being a prominent part of the golden era of riders at Woodbine, combined with his competitive spirit lead me to believe that he would be out in the starting gate getting ready for the next race if given the chance. A good man, his entry in the PEI Sports Hall of Fame describes him perfectly as, "the 5'4" jockey with the 10 pound heart." As we exited the track, several punters stopped to wish him well and each of them was greeted with a smile and a warm hello.

I'll share some of Lloyd's stories in future blogs.