Albert Brace

Albert Brace

Article by Alan Trout

Apprentice Albert John Brace had two winners from his rides on the Flat in 1914 and 1915. He was apprenticed to Captain Thomas Hogg (1879-1942), a four-time Classic-winning trainer whose stables were at Epsom.

Albert had his first ride in public at Leicester on April 8, 1914 when unplaced on Atherton in the Melton Selling Handicap, victory going to Daniel McKenna on Bobbin II. He had to wait until the very end of the season for his first success, and then he rode two winners in two days.

The first of these was the five-year-old Georgette, who won the five-furlong Yewhurst Welter Sprint Handicap at Lingfield Park on Friday, November 27. The following day – the final day of the 1914 season – he rode Captain Hogg’s four-year-old Sir Tristram to a four-length success in the Burstow Selling Handicap.

Any hopes that that late flourish might lead to better things were dashed in 1915 when the best he managed to achieve was a third-place finish on Moretta in the Robin Hood Two-Year-Old Plate at Nottingham on March 30.

His final mount on the Flat was Belgian, who finished unplaced in the Hawkedon Selling Nursery Handicap at Newmarket on September 1, 1915.

After the war, Albert fared rather better as a National Hunt jockey, riding three winners in 1921. His first success was on Sunstroke for Captain Hogg in the Richmond Four-Year-Old Handicap Hurdle at Hurst Park on February 11. He then recorded a double at the Hambledon Hunt meeting on May 25, initiated by Burly winning the Hampshire Handicap Hurdle by eight lengths and beating top hurdle race specialist jockey George Duller into the bargain. Remarkably, reunited with Burley just an hour later, Albert enjoyed an even easier success, winning the Hambledon Hurdle by 15 lengths.

Despite those three wins, Albert did not make a breakthrough, although he held a licence intermittently until the 1935/36 season.