Shane Dye

Raymond Shane Dye

Born in 1966 in Matamata, Shane Dye was commonly referred to as the Billy Idol of racing during his heyday as a jockey in Australia. And just like the Billy Idol of rock music, he lived up to the stardom.
A precocious talent, he had twice been champion New Zealand apprentice when indentured to Dave and Paul O’Sullivan at Matamata, but it soon became obvious he had bigger dreams beyond his backyard,
Flamboyant and sometimes controversial, Dye hogged the headlines as success flowed in his shift to Australia in the late 1980s, making his mark in the highly competitive Sydney racing arena.
For nearly 20 years, Dye was Australia’s most dominant big-race jockey. By the age of 33, he had ridden 90 Group One winners, including a Melbourne Cup (Tawrrific), Cox Plate (Octagonal) and four successive Golden Slippers (Courtza, Canny Lad, Tierce and Burst).
He won two Sydney Jockeys Premierships and was on track to conquer all the riding records. George Moore’s all-time Group One tally of 119 wins was within his sights, but in 2000 he accepted a lucrative contract to ride in Hong Kong.
Dye soon established himself among the top three jockeys in Hong Kong, finishing runner-up on the premiership on a few occasions, and he rode there successfully for seven years until a horror race fall in which he suffered serious injuries.
He eventually made a comeback to race riding in Mauritius, where he won the jockeys premiership in 2009, before returning home to New Zealand for a brief stint of riding before his retirement from the saddle with 93 Group One wins to his credit.
“I achieved everything I wanted to achieve in racing,” he says. “When I started riding, my ambition was to win the Melbourne Cup, Cox Plate and Golden Slipper which I managed to do. I fulfilled my dreams in racing.’’
Flamboyant, colourful and controversial, yes racing’s “Billy Idol” loved the limelight and he was never afraid to back his own judgement.
His achievements commanded his induction into the Australian Racing Hall Of Fame in March 2014 and now he is a worthy dual Hall Of Famer.