Turtle, William

William Owen (Bill) Turtle was born on November 1, 1910, the son of a London hotel manager. He was apprenticed to Stanley Wootton at Epsom and rode his first winner on Adage, trained by Wootton, in a Wolverhampton apprentices’ race on May 24, 1926.He had his apprentice licence withdrawn in 1927 but returned as a freelance fully fledged jockey in 1929.

Bill rode with moderate success until the mid-1950s. His last two winners – the only ones he rode during the 1950s – were on Hutchin for Stanley Wootton in the Stayers’ Selling Handicap at Folkestone on June 24, 1952, and 20-1 outsider Satin Sarah for Epsom trainer Dave Hanley in the Maiden Fillies’ Plate for two-year-olds at Leicester on March 28, 1955. He retired at the end of that season.

William Turtle died in 1988, aged 77.