Bruce Robertson Hobbs was an American jockey

Jockey

A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...

 and horse trainer.

Born on Long Island, New York, Hobbs became the youngest jockey ever to ride the winner of the English Grand National

Grand National

The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...

 when successful on Battleship

Battleship (horse)

Battleship was an American Thoroughbred Racehorse who was the only horse in history to win both the American Grand National and the English Grand National steeplechase races.-Breeding:...

, a son of Man o' War

Man O' War (horse)

Man o' War, is considered one of the greatest Thoroughbred racehorses of all time. During his career just after World War I, he won 20 of 21 races and $249,465 in purses....

, in 1938 just three months after his 17th birthday. Two weeks later, Hobbs won the Welsh Grand National

Welsh National

The Welsh National is a Grade 3 National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Chepstow, Wales, over a distance of about 3 miles and 5½ furlongs , and during its running there are twenty-two fences to be jumped...

 on Timber Wolf. At the end of the 1937-38 season, during which he rode 35 winners, Hobbs made history by becoming the first jockey to win three Grand Nationals in one year, being successful in Long Island's Cedarhurst version.

A crashing fall in 1938 resulted in injuries including a broken spine. Although told he would never ride again, he returned to the saddle, but turned to training horses at age 25.

Hobbs retired from racing in 1985. He died in 2005, aged 84.