Wragg, Harry

In a career that had spanned 27 years, Harry Wragg - height, 5ft 4ins - rode 1,772 winners from 11,658 mounts.Known as the Head Waiter, Harry Wragg was born at 26, Bolehill Lane, Nether Hallam, Sheffield, on Tuesday, 10 June, 1902.

The son of Arthur Wragg, a fine local amateur boxer and athlete, Harry and his younger brother Sam became apprenticed to R.W.Colling at Bedford Lodge, Newmarket. Sam went on to win the 1940 Derby on Pont l‘Eveque. Harry’s other brother, Arthur, was, too, a jockey and rode for a first-class stable, but, while competent, never reached the heights attained by Harry.

Harry’s first winner came on Flying Duck at Derby in September, 1919: his last winner (and very last ride) came on Saturday November 16 1946 when riding 20/1 shot Las Vegas to victory the Manchester November Handicap in 1946. Harry had won the previous two races (on Tiffin Bell and Aprolon) and he was given a considerable reception by the paddock racegoers who appreciated his long and distinguished career.

Two years after his first win, Harry was riding, and winning, for King George V. Wearing the royal colours, Harry scored on Will Somers in the 1921 Ormonde Plate at Newmarket; shortly after he rode regularly for the King’s trainer Richard Marsh. 

Another important retainer that Harry secured was that of Lord Rosebery for whom Jack Jarvis trained at Newmarket. It was for Lord Rosebery that Harry rode one of his rare ill-judged finishes when he came third on Sandwich in the Derby. Most observers agreed that Harry had left his challenge too late.

Harry partly made up for the rare lapse when winning the St Leger on the same horse. He also won the Eclipse for Lord Rosebery riding Miracle.

Michael Beary had the choice of mounts for the Aga Khan in the Derby of 1930. He chose to ride Rustom Pasha and was mortified to see Harry Wragg cruise home on the rejected second-string, Blenheim.

Harry Wragg joined the Army on July 21 1941 and became a gunner in an anti-aircraft battery. He continued to ride whenever possible. His wife was asked how Harry got Army leave so often. She explained ‘Harry has special privileges. He gets leave because his work keeps him up all night. He has often gone straight from the battery to a meeting. He sometimes rides after being at his post all night. He has ridden when he should be sleeping.’

That year, Harry became champion jockey for the first and only time beating Ephraim Smith into second place. Gordon Richards would undoubtedly have been the champion but for an accident early in the season which had kept him out of the saddle.

On October 19, 1932, Harry’s seasonal total stood at 102 and he was keen to beat his previous year’s total of 110. It was not to be. Going down to the start of Newcastle’s Astley Nursery on Donatia, he was thrown and broke a leg. His season was over.

During the war, Sergeant Harry Wragg lived in Bedford Lodge, a property formerly owned by Lord Beaverbrook. Bedford Lodge was a beautiful white house set in parkland, and could be approached from the road through a drive of elms. 

Harry Wragg’s wife furnished the property in keeping with the beauty of the house. They had three children. Peter, the elder boy, began as  a veterinary surgeon after studying at one of England’s most famous colleges. He then became a successful bloodstock agent.

When Richard Perryman retired in 1942, Harry became stepped up to become first jockey to Lord Derby. He made a brilliant start, winning that year’s Derby on Watling Street. By the end of the war, Harry had ridden six classic winners for Lord Derby.

His last full season as a jockey was in 1946 in which he achieved a final classic success on Steady Aim in the Oaks.

He began training in 1947, and, assisted by his son, Geoffrey, sent out horses from Abington Place, Newmarket. Few jockeys go on to become trainers of note: Harry was one exception, winning the Two Thousand Guineas (Darius, 1954), the One Thousand Guineas (Abermaid, 1962 & Full Dress 1969), the Derby (Psidium, 1961) and the St Leger (Intermezzo, 1969).

Harry Wragg died at Newmarket on Sunday, October 20, 1985. He was 83.

He left estate valued at £124,907.

Harry’s thirteen classic wins  as a jockey were:

Two Thousand Guineas: Garden Path (1944)

One Thousand Guineas: Campanula (1934), Herringbone (1943) and Sun Stream (1945)

The Derby: Felstead (1928), Blenheim (1930) and Watling Street (1942)

The Oaks: Rockfel (1938), Commotion (1941), Sun Stream (1945) and Steady Aim (1946)

St Leger: Sandwich (1931) and Herringbone (1943)