Cecil Palmer

Cecil Palmer

Article by Alan Trout

Apprentice Cecil William Palmer rode on the Flat through much of the First World War and managed one win. He was apprenticed to John Dawson (died 1942) whose stable was at St Alban's House, Newmarket, and whose father, also named John, won four Classic races in the 19th century.

Cecil made a promising start to his career, finishing third on Reporter in the Apprentices’ Plate at Newmarket’s Craven meeting on April 13, 1915. The winning jockey, Samuel Thomas, aboard Restbarrow, was riding his first, and only, winner.

Cecil had to wait until the corresponding race twelve months later to ride his first winner. On April 11, 1916, he steered Elevator, owned by Lord Ellesmere, to a two-length victory in the Apprentices’ Handicap at Newmarket.

Elevator was a four-year-old who had won twice in his two-year-old days but had run 14 times in 1915 without success. Next time out Elevator, with Cecil aboard, was beaten a head by ‘Skeets’ Martin on Jameson in the Peel Handicap at Newmarket on May 4.

Any hopes that those rides would lead to a breakthrough were soon dashed, although Cecil continued to take the occasional mount. He did finish second, albeit beaten six lengths, on Elevator on his first ride of the 1917 season, the Apprentices’ Handicap – the race he had won the previous year – at Newmarket on April 17.

Cecil’s last ride was back at the same venue – Newmarket being one of the few courses permitted to stage racing during the war – on September 13, 1918, when Seaweed finished unplaced in division 2 of the Barnham Plate, won by an unnamed two-year-old owned by Lord Rosebery and ridden by Cornelius Foy.