Harry Enoch

Harry Enoch, the third son of Lord Zetland’s private trainer, Joseph Enoch, was born in Letcombe Regis, Oxfordshire, in 1867.

He made his riding debut on Thursday, August 14 1879 at Redcar’s Summer Meeting riding Ulysses in the Coatham Handicap Plate. Never a factor, they finished almost last.

On Monday, October 25 1880, Harry - still only 14 years old - rode Griselda at Newmarket’s Houghton Meeting. Harry had been beaten on the filly in a Nursery the previous week but believed the form to be all wrong. And so it proved. Starting at 100-8 in the five-furlong Monday Nursery Handicap, Griselda took up the running two furlongs out, pulling eight lengths clear of her field at the line. It was Harry’s first victory in the saddle. On the strength of that performance, Harry was booked to ride Mr Lorillard’s three-year-old Wallenstein five days’ later in the Cambridgeshire. The race was run in heavy rain, making the jockeys’ colours indistinguishable. Starting at 40-1 in a field of thirty-one, Wallenstein and Harry finished an excellent fifth.

On Thursday, February 26 1885, Harry Enoch was the best man at the wedding of fellow jockey John Watts, one of the most successful jockeys of the previous season. Harry’s wedding present to the happy couple was a silver fish knife and fork.

Harry suffered a near-fatal accident on Saturday, March 7 1891. Whilst hunting with the Green Lodge Draghounds near Newmarket, Harry was caught in the jar by barbed wire stretching from tree to tree, and severely injured. Several of his teeth were torn from his jaw and he was thrown violently to the ground. No limbs were broken but his face was badly torn.

Harry’s days as a jockey had reaped modest reward and, when his father retired from training in 1892, Harry took over Zetland Lodge at Newmarket. One of his main patrons was Captain G. W. Baird, whose Flodden Field gave Harry his first victory as private trainer. One of Captain Baird’s better horses was Woolwinder, which Harry trained to win many races including the 1907 St Leger when ridden by W. Halsey. Harry also trained Musa to win the 1899 Oaks.

Later, Harry trained from The Beeches in Exning, where his brother Joseph acted as assistant trainer. Joseph died, aged 75, on 31 October 1954.

Harry Enoch, having retired from training and become a farmer, died on June 17 1924 at The Rookery, Wortham, Suffolk. He was buried at Fordham, Newmarket.