Cecil Escott

Cecil Escott

Article by Alan Trout

Harry Cecil Escott – always known as Cecil – was perhaps the least known of the three Escott jockey brothers who followed their father into racing, but he enjoyed some success with 63 wins on the Flat between 1902 and 1911. His father, also named Harry, had been a leading National Hunt jockey in the last decade of the 19th century and later trained three Grand National winners, Lutteur III (1909) and Poethlyn (1918/1919, the first a war substitute race at Gatwick), from his base in Lewes.

Born in around 1885, young Cecil had his first ride in public when finished third of six on Gasparilla in the Apprentices’ Mile Selling Handicap at Lewes on June 26, 1900. The winning rider was future champion jockey Willie Lane.

It was at the corresponding Lewes meeting two years later, June 23, 1902, that Cecil had his first win when Perdicus, trained by his father, won the Ashcombe Mid-weight Handicap by a head from Leo Tertius, the mount of Frank Hardy. Just two days later at Gatwick, Cecil scored his second win with Capucines II in the Veranda Handicap. Again the winner was trained by his father and again the winning margin was a head. Cecil finished the season with a total of 13 wins.

He achieved his most important success on April 25, 1905 when winning Epsom’s Great Metropolitan Handicap by four lengths on Long Tom, owned and trained by his father. He recorded his best year numerically in 1906 with 15 victories.

On June 7, 1909, all three Escott brothers rode in the Castle Selling Plate at Lewes. William, who was later to achieve success as a steeplechase jockey before being tragically killed in a fall at Auteuil in October 1919, won the race on his father’s Robrinski, while Cecil and Tony, who rode over 280 winners over jumps, both finished unplaced.

Cecil only registered two wins in that 1909 season and did not ride in England at all in 1910. He was already spending the winters riding in South Africa, and after one final ride, a winning one on Coastwise in the Manor Handicap at Haydock Park on May 5, 1911, he settled there permanently.

With the outbreak of World War One, Cecil joined the Cape Mounted Rifles in 1915 and saw action against the Germans in South West Africa. He was still riding in South Africa in the 1920s, and although he visited England occasionally, it is likely that he died in his adopted country.