One For The Racing Historians

2 days = Thirsk, I think.


Frd Archer - I've got St Mirin in my head, from having read The Tin Man about 45 years ago. I think he just got beat on it, and it sent him lower, but might well have been something else.

Well it wasn't St Mirin. Archer was beaten a head on him in the Cambridgeshire (just under a fortnight before he shot himself), putting up a pound overweight (at 8-7), but that was on the Tuesday of the Newmarket Houghton meeting. On the last day of the 4-day meeting, he rode 5 winners, including a walkover on Ormonde, and a Jockey Club Cup on St Gatien (after whom the racing stables are named. Trainer Robert Sherwood built them largely on the proceeds he won on St Gatien winning the Cesarewitch as a 3yo, having won the Derby earlier. In all, St Gatien won 3 Jockey Club Cups (over the Ces C/D). In 1886, under Archer, he beat Melton. Melton had won the previous year's Derby and St Leger, and earlier that year had won the July Cup, and earlier in Houghton week had carried top weight into 4th in the Cambs - different times). According to Wiki, Archer turned up at Brighton and Lewes the following week.

As for most favs on one card - don't know, but I can find 3 tracks in the UK that have had 8 winning favs in the last 25 years - Catterick (all 8 races), Chester and Redcar - so I guess the answer is more than 8.

Good work as ever, ged.

Reckon someone should invent a new search engine , they could call it Ask Ged   

Fred Archer's last winning mount was Lord Falmouth's Blanchland in the Newmarket Houghton Stakes, October 28th, 1886.

Fred Archer's last mount was Tommy Tittlemouse [owned by the well known Yorkshire bookmaker Mr J T Whipp]  who finished 3rd at Lewes in the Castle Plate on 4th Nov 1886.

Tommy Tittlemouse

You beat me to it Leif. Beaten odds on favourite. Never even placed. He was suffering from fever and gave up his other rides. Gurry the trainer escorted him home to Falmouth House. He ended up in bed, fell into a deep depression and shot himself.

The greatest jockey that ever lived. You  can buy the book by John Welcome (Fred Archer His Life & Times) on ebay for £6.99 including postage. Books have lost their value.

Thirsk Fri/Sat 30/31 July 1999.

6-race cards, favs won all 12 races. Nothing under 2/1 on the Friday; nothing over 2/12 on the Saturday. Going firm. Exactly 60 runners both days.

*2/1, not 2/12

Catterick 9/10/2001 - 8/8 favs
Redcar 27/7/2020 - 8/10 (1 joint)
Chester 20/8/2020 - 8/9


I don't have data for Irish tracks.

The Albert Cope Encyclopedia and Diary of 1938.
July 1891 Hamiltons 2 day meeting all favs won.
All 9 favs won at Newmarket Oct 1862.
Only Derby winner to have raced that once?

we,ve allk worked with a few TOMMY TITTLEMOUSES in our day

Middleton (1825) and Amato (1838) both won the Derby on their only outing.

(Sailor (1820) and Morston (1973) both won their only 2 races, the final one being the Derby in both cases).

Many of us had never even heard of Morston until he passed the post at Epsom!

Morston 1973.
The only Derby i ever attended as a Punter. and i was only 10

Aboyeur the only Derby winner to get killed pulling a cannon during the Russian Revolution.

Aboyeur's race was even more famous for the death involving Emily Davison.

Very true Sparrow.

..... Craganour won the race but was disqualified.

https://eehe.org.uk/?p=24067

This is better than you might expect given the source.

Thanks for that blackbarn.  I wonder if Major Loder was related to the more recent trainer David Loder?

Apart from 1844 the most infamous Derby.

I don't know Sparrow.  It was a big family hereabouts. MP's for Brighton, responsible for several of the best gardens in Sussex, in addition to all the racing ones.

Thanks, blackbarn.

Major Eustace loder [if it's the same bod] was listed as a 'batchelor' so he wouldn't have sired young david's lot but could be part of the 'tree'.

Died at the Curragh aged just 47 known as 'Lucky' Loder ].
Bred and owned Pretty Polly.

Lord Seymour, trained by Stoute, was a real hyped up beast in the Loder colours with Stoute in the late 70's, though they had a certain Marwell soon after - managed to see her in the flesh once and Stoute is adamant she was the best sprinter he trained ( Ajdal often overlooked for some reason).

David Loder himself had it all laid on a plate for him but handed in his licence as he wanted to travel and see the world.

Paul Mathieu's ' The Druids Lodge Confederacy' is a fantastic insight into Aboyeur's era. While it was the norm for the top of the pyramid animals to make an appearance in one of the big handicaps ( though I don't  think Aboyeur himself did), it's still in a way similar to the Derby being won by Sutcliffe, Akehurst, Cousins and the like.

David Loder retired because of bad health. Training proved too stressful after he caught a virus in France which attacked the nervous system or something like that.

The Druids Lodge Confederacy book was worse than the one by Alex Bird, arguably the most boring book ever printed on gambling. Mind you, there has been a lot written by punters with severe VS.

Disagree the mightymac
I enjoyed Druids Lodge Confederacy & the same authors history of Beckhampton is a cracking read for anyone interested in the history of racing.

Agree about Alex Bird but did enjoy the Druids Lodge book.

I'd class 'The Druids Lodge Confederacy' as well researched historical book more about the setting up, then  rise and fall of the Druids Lodge yard, than gambling itself. Still, we have different preferences - I began reading ' Men And Horses I Have Known' a few decades back as some, including Tony Morris, considered it the best racing book they'd ever read. I found it such a yawn that I never got to finish it.

themightymac
Agree about Alec Bird.

verbotene liebe
I found 'Men and horses I Have Known' also hard going.

I enjoyed both books ..