 Goar Urbina, born on October 9th, 1975, is from Vitoria in north-eastern Spain. He is 5ft 8" and used to ride as an apprentice jockey in Spain.
His full name is Goar Ortiz de Urbina y Valverde but on coming to England it was abbreviated to Goar Urbina. Goar's elder brother, Oscar, is a leading jockey in the UK and rides for the James Fanshawe stable.
Goar joined the apprentice academy in Madrid followed by a period in the French equivalent in Mont-de-Marsan. He had his first indentures with Angel Imaz. Goar used to be an extremely promising apprentice in the early 1990's until injury from a car accident saw him off the track for an extended period and then his weight spiralled. He is now a comfortable 60 kgs.
Still, he used to produce marvellous waiting rides from the front at Madrid's Hipodromo de la Zarzuela and would have been a top jockey in Spain but for the mishap.
Nick Higgins recalls Goar repelling all challenges on a horse called Astral Flyer for the Cuadra Madrilena.  
"Goar was riding the second string of the stable over 2,100m at Madrid. Florentino Gonzalez, the stable jockey, was on the favourite. Goar hustled Astral Flyer straight to the front and stayed there all the way, despite the senior jockeys coming at him from all sides. It was one of the most memorable rides I saw at Madrid back then....." recalls Higgins.
For the record, Goar's wins / places / rides / postion stats in the apprentice table were as follows:
1992--2 wins / 9 places / 46 rides / 8th
1993--2 wins / 17 places / 52 rides / 7th
Not withstanding, when his elder brother moved to Newmarket in 1994, Goar followed in February 1995 and joined John Gosden in Newmarket for that season. From Gosden, he joined Godolphin and worked for them in Dubai for 2 1/2 years where he would enjoy the best of the weather in Dubai and then the summer months of Newmarket.
The best horse he looked after whilst with Godolphin was Almutakawel whom he looked after when the colt won the Group 1 Prix Jean Prat.
The Machiavellian colt was later to win the Dubai World Cup and Goar is very proud to have been associated with such a champion.
In the last 7 years Goar has built up an impressive cv in the racing world which has seen him travel the world and work for the top trainers worldwide, namely:
John Gosden in Newmarket for 1 year.
Godolphin in Dubai for 2 1/2 years.
Ed Dunlop in Newmarket since 2001.
Bobby Frankel in California (winter 2002/03)
In 2004, Goar decided to become a racehorse farrier and gained a Diploma in Horse Shoeing at the Kentucky Horse Shoeing School in Mount Eden, Kentucky. There he learnt the trade under the auspices and tutelage of Professor Mit Taylor.
He now works in Pau, France, for a qualified French racehorse farrier as one of two apprentices. Goar's team look after the shoes of around 180 racehorses belonging to Francois Rohaut, Luis-Alberto Urbano and Jean-Pierre Totain. Goar normally shoes around 7 to 8 horses per day !
"I enjoy it immensely and get a real sense of satisfaction from doing the job well. It's also heartening to know that my work contributes to the good health of the racehorse and to its success at the track. I like having happy clients - both human and equine ! "
HORSES GOAR HAS WORKED OR LOOKED AFTER:
Almutakawel, Halling, King's Theatre, Fatefully, Easy Option, Shareef Kabeer, Surprise Encounter, Bold American & Tates Creek.
E-mail Goar at Goar@JockeysRoom.com
Goar on a Bobby Frankel trained inmate at Santa Anita racecourse in early, 2003.
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