Surround’s jockey Alan Trevena dies aged 84
Alan Trevena rode the champion mare in 16 of her 17 victories and later helped Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Jye McNeil enter the sport.
Alan Trevena, the jockey who partnered champion mare Surround in 16 of her 17 victories, has died aged 84 in New South Wales..
Trevena’s association with the New Zealand-bred Surround defined his career. Trained by Geoff Murphy, the filly won 17 of her 28 starts, with Trevena aboard for the 1976 Caulfield Guineas and VRC Oaks before she completed an Oaks treble in Sydney and Queensland in 1977.
Surround also remains the only three-year-old filly to win the Cox Plate. Trevena could not make her weight for the 1976 race, leaving Peter Cook to take the winning ride.
Trevena later recalled the trial that convinced him of Surround’s quality. “Never in my life have I ridden anything that’s won anything easier,” he said. “She never got out of first gear.”
After retiring from race riding, Trevena was a family friend of Jye McNeil and helped arrange the future 2020 Melbourne Cup-winning jockey’s apprenticeship with Gerald Egan.
