James Fogarty
James Fogarty
James Fogarty
Article by Alan Trout
Article by Alan Trout
James Fogarty was one of those jockeys whose first win was a deadheat. At Cartmel on Whit Monday, May 25, 1953, the judge could not separate James’s mount, the six-year-old Violetta, from Sun Clasp, ridden by the much more experienced Tommy Wyse, at the end of the Barrow Chase. Two lengths behind them in third place was 15-year-old Rastus, ridden by future Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning trainer Peter Beaumont, who, 40 years later, would send out Jodami from his Brandsby stables in Yorkshire to capture jumping’s most prestigious prize.
James Fogarty was one of those jockeys whose first win was a deadheat. At Cartmel on Whit Monday, May 25, 1953, the judge could not separate James’s mount, the six-year-old Violetta, from Sun Clasp, ridden by the much more experienced Tommy Wyse, at the end of the Barrow Chase. Two lengths behind them in third place was 15-year-old Rastus, ridden by future Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning trainer Peter Beaumont, who, 40 years later, would send out Jodami from his Brandsby stables in Yorkshire to capture jumping’s most prestigious prize.
Violetta showed little for James in subsequent outings and it was almost two years before he rode his second, and final, winner, but at least he did not have to share the limelight this time. The eight-year-old Tavern Brawl, owned by Lord Bicester and trained by George Beeby, won the Rubio Handicap Chase on the Saturday of Towcester Easter meeting on April 9, 1955, beating Bacchus, the mount of John Delaney, by three-quarters of a length. The 31 lbs the winner was receiving from the runner-up undoubtedly made the difference between victory and defeat.
Violetta showed little for James in subsequent outings and it was almost two years before he rode his second, and final, winner, but at least he did not have to share the limelight this time. The eight-year-old Tavern Brawl, owned by Lord Bicester and trained by George Beeby, won the Rubio Handicap Chase on the Saturday of Towcester Easter meeting on April 9, 1955, beating Bacchus, the mount of John Delaney, by three-quarters of a length. The 31 lbs the winner was receiving from the runner-up undoubtedly made the difference between victory and defeat.
The significance of the naming of the Rubio Handicap Chase is explained by Towcester’s connection with the winner of the 1908 Grand National. Despatched to Newmarket sales as a yearling, Rubio had fetched only 15 guineas, and soon after became the property of Major Frank Douglas-Pennant, for whom he won three minor chases in 1903 before breaking down badly. In an unorthodox attempt to restore the horse to fitness, Major Douglas-Pennant lent Rubio to a friend who owned the Prospect Arms Hotel in Towcester, with instructions that he should be used to pull the hotel bus that met passengers off the trains at the station. It apparently did the trick in strengthening him up, for by the end of 1906 Rubio was back in training.
The significance of the naming of the Rubio Handicap Chase is explained by Towcester’s connection with the winner of the 1908 Grand National. Despatched to Newmarket sales as a yearling, Rubio had fetched only 15 guineas, and soon after became the property of Major Frank Douglas-Pennant, for whom he won three minor chases in 1903 before breaking down badly. In an unorthodox attempt to restore the horse to fitness, Major Douglas-Pennant lent Rubio to a friend who owned the Prospect Arms Hotel in Towcester, with instructions that he should be used to pull the hotel bus that met passengers off the trains at the station. It apparently did the trick in strengthening him up, for by the end of 1906 Rubio was back in training.
As for Tavern Brawl, he ran poorly in two subsequent outings with James aboard and was not seen again. James kept a licence for a further year but did not add to his total of two wins.
As for Tavern Brawl, he ran poorly in two subsequent outings with James aboard and was not seen again. James kept a licence for a further year but did not add to his total of two wins.
James's first winner.
James's first winner.
Tavern Brawl, James's second winner.
Tavern Brawl, James's second winner.