Fred Archer

In November, 1930, an old-time steeplechase jockey, Billy Daniels - who had won the Grand National in 1887 on Gamecock - died. 

Billy Daniels had always been proud of the fact that he sold Fred Archer his very first pony. In fact, young Fred had several ponies, including one named Chard which his father, William, had won in a raffle. 

Ex-jockey William, recognising the immense riding potential his son possessed, put him up on Chard and spent hours coaching him: he erected a small hurdle in the garden and shouted and cursed at Fred until satisfied with his performance. 

Fred, far more frightened of his father than he was of falling off, learnt quickly and, when 10 years old, was considered by William to be ready. At a local sports meeting, Fred's pony was pitched against a local donkey. The course was twice round the orchard of the Plough Inn with a brook to be jumped each time and Fred was fitted out with colours and breeches. He lost, beaten a neck by an older lad brandishing a thick stick. Archer came home crying and was to remain a bad loser throughout his career. 

He rode the course shortly after, winning a donkey race. This was Fred's first recorded victory.

Non-smoker Fred Archer was born on 11th January 1857, in St George’s Cottage, St George’s Place, Cheltenham. Unlike his father William, he was nervous, shy and highly intelligent. 

In November 1867, returning home from hunting with Mr Dick La Terriere, William mentioned that he would like Fred to become a jockey. Mr La Terriere suggested that William wrote to Matt Dawson, the Newmarket trainer, to see if he would take Fred on as an apprentice. The answer came back immediately: 'send the boy along'.

William didn't send him; he took him, and, on 10 February 1868, formal indentures were entered into. Fred, just 11 years old, became apprenticed to Matt Dawson for five years, and some of the conditions on his indentures make interesting reading.

'(Fred)...will not commit fornication nor contract matrimony....shall not play cards or dice tables....shall not haunt taverns nor playhouses....'

The contract also stated that Fred would be paid seven guineas for the first year, nine guineas for the second, eleven guineas for the third, and thirteen guineas for the fourth and fifth. It was also written that Fred would get sufficient 'meat and drink', a 'hat and waistcoat each year and lodging during the said term...'

Initially, it was not a happy time for young Fred. He was desperately lonely, homesick and unhappy. He was also being mercilessly bullied and he wrote to his mother, begging her to allow him to come home.

Fred began riding out and gradually the constant torture turned to respect as it was seen that horses went for him that would not go for others.

On Friday 15th October 1869, Fred had his first mount in public during Newmarket’s second October meeting. He rode Honoria (a three-year-old set to carry 7st. 2lbs.) as pacemaker for Lord Falmouth’s Stromboli which Fred Webb, then the stable’s lightweight jockey, was to ride. 

There were 14 runners for the one mile 17 yards race. Fred obeyed orders and made the running before fading to finish last. Stromboli (2/1 fav) won rather cleverly by a neck from second favourite Compromise. 

Fred's father was acquainted with a Mrs Willian, who was looking for a lightweight to ride her well-known pony Maid of Trent in a steeplechase at Bangor. William suggested his son, and, having obtained Matthew Dawson's permission, Fred, weighing out at an incredible 4st. 11 lbs. duly won the race for her. Aged 12, the future champion had recorded his first-ever win under rules.

The first of his 2,748 victories came on 28 September, 1870, on a horse called Athol Daisy at Chesterfield.

Fred endured a frustrating 1871 – from twenty-seven rides he rode just three winners and, during that slow period, another jockey named Wheeler reported him to the starter for misconduct at the post. Fred was immediately stood down for a fortnight  - the only occasion in his entire career that he fell foul of authority. 

He first came to the attention of the public – and other trainers – when winning the 1872 Cesarewitch on the 12/1 shot Salvanos 

Somehow Admiral Rous, now in the twilight of his career, had allowed the horse in at the minimum weight of 5 stone 7 pounds. Its trainer, Matt Dawson, was on to this at once but Salvanos – big, strong and awkward - was not an easy ride and had bolted last time out, and would not run for everybody. But he ran for Fred, hitting the front at the bushes and winning as he liked. 

He was out of his indentures the next year and Matt Dawson gave him an inscribed gold watch, a present he treasured throughout the remainder of his short life. 

In 1873 Fred had 422 rides and became involved in a desperate race for the jockeys' championship between himself and Henry Constable. Fred lost that race, Constable beating him by three. Aged just 16, it had been a considerable achievement by the young jockey.

It was the last time anyone other than Fred would head the list for 13 years. 

In that same year, 1873, on Saturday, August 30, something else happened which would have a decisive effect on Fred's career. Tom French, the stable jockey to Matthew Dawson, died from consumption, aged 29. (Eerily, Fred himself was to die at the same age and, indirectly, from the same disease.)

At the start of the 1874 season, Matthew had still not decided who would take French's place as stable jockey. Fred was the obvious choice, but he could still do the minimum weight of 5 st. 7 lb. which meant that he would have to put up considerable amounts of deadweight in classic races and perhaps even more in some handicaps. And, of course, he was still a boy.

Matthew was then training for a gambling owner called Frederick Swidell who had a good colt, Tomahawk, entered for the LIncoln. The horse was set to carry 6 st. 4 lb and Swindell wanted Fred to ride. Fred did so, and won very much as he liked; Swindell took a fortune out of the ring.

Matthew also trained for Lord Falmouth who had his colt Atlantic entered in the Two Thousand Guineas. 

Atlantic had not been easy to train and neither Matthew nor Lord Falmouth fancied him. Fred was given the ride, even though it meant carrying three stone of dead weight.

Fred rode a copybook race, holding Atlantic up for one perfectly timed effort to win by a neck.

The year had started well. It was to finish badly.

Swindell had his eye on the Cesarewitch for which he had entered the Truth Gelding (he had not yet named it.)

Again Admiral Rous misjudged a horse's merits, and allotted it just 5 st. 12 lb. Fred was immediately engaged to ride. By the day of the race, Swindell had backed the Truth Gelding to win him £100,000 - but he had made a critical error.

During the summer, Fred had suddenly shot up to his full height of 5 ft. 8 inches. Not only had the young jockey gained muscle and bone, he had also gained weight.

Fred could no longer do six stone, or anything like it, without drastic wasting. He was a poor walker and could hardly run at all - so began the routine of starvation diets, Turkish baths and purgatives.

Despite everything, he still weighed out at six stone, one pound - some three pounds overweight. Crucially, he had also weakened himself, and it was this and the extra weight which brought about a neck defeat.

Despite this setback, Fred rode 147 winners, became champion for the first time and became stable jockey for the next season.

1875, by and large, was a good year for Fred. He won his second classic on Spinaway.

in the One Thousand Guineas without fuss, but had a much harder race when later winning the Oaks on the same filly.

Fred became an indefatigable traveller, riding winners all over the country, usually in the magpie jacket of Lord Falmouth.

His parents, however, were becoming a problem. His father, openly living off his famous son, used his name to secure credit for himself and his family. His mother had started to gamble. Fred paid all the bills, but not a week passed by without more coming in. Only Fred knew the effort it took to discharge them.

He ended 1875 as champion once again with 172 wins. He had won two classics, the Yorkshire Oaks (also on Spinaway), the Chesterfield Cup, the Stearwell Stakes, the Stewards' Cup and the Liverpool Autumn Cup.

He was still only eighteen.

Fred was champion again in 1876 with 207 winners, the first time he had passed two hundred. There was now plenty of money for the family and he set his father up as Landlord of the Andoverford Hotel. Fred made this his base in the winter months from where he pursued foxhunting, a sport he loved.

His name was now becoming known outside the racing world. People pointed him out to each other in the streets, music hall jokes were being made about him and his name appeared in all the newspapers, not just those which covered racing.

Fred Archer had arrived, and his fame quickly spread as his achievements accumulated. When he was due to ride in Thirsk in 1884, it was the town-crier who heralded his arrival: "Fred Archer, the celebrated horseman, will ride the winner of the Foal Stakes. Gentlemen! Come and see the wonder of the world."

Crowds gathered outside his hotel waiting to catch a glimpse of him as he left.

Fred Archer went on to win a total of 21 classics, namely six St Legers, five Derbies,

four Two Thousand Guineas, four Oaks, and two One Thousand Guineas.

He also won five Grand Prix de Paris, two French Derbies, five City & Suburban, one Great Metropolitan, two Cesarewitch, six Woodcote Stakes, eight Clearwell Stakes, three Middle Park, five Dewhurst, two Great Ebor Handicaps, seven Champagne Stakes, two Portland, three Liverpool Autumn Cups, three Royal Hunt Cups, three Prince of Wales' Stakes and two Alexandra Plates.

In total, he won 2,748 races from 8,004 mounts, a staggering 34.33%. 

But not without an ultimate cost. 

On Thursday 4th November 1886, he rode for the last time, Lucretius and Tommy Tittlemouse, both favourite, both beaten at Lewes racecourse. He returned home to Newmarket feeling unwell and worsened the next day. Dr Wright was called in, and on Saturday thought a second opinion advisable. Dr P.W. Latham was summoned and he pronounced Archer to be in a high state of fever. 

During Sunday, Fred was in a dangerous state of congestion of the lungs. Next day, alone with his sister, Fred Archer asked ‘are they coming?’ a reference to the doctors he was expecting. These were to be his last words. 

Moments later, at 2.25 p.m., he suddenly got out of bed and picked up a revolver. His sister sprang towards him, but too late. He put the barrel of the revolver to his mouth and fired. The doctor, on entering, immediately pronounced him dead. (The revolver had been given to Fred by Mr Thomas Roughton when his horse, Sterling, had won the Liverpool Cup. Because of a spate of Newmarket burglaries, Fred kept it by his bed). 

At an inquest later, a verdict of “Suicide during temporary insanity” was returned. His will was proved at £60,000. 

Shortly after his death his apparition was encountered by a woman and her daughter on Hamilton Stud Lane, a ghost which is said to have been reported since on several occasions. His ghost is also said to haunt the heath and has been blamed for a few racing mishaps at the Newmarket Racecourse.

Despite stories to the contrary, Fred was not a grasping or mean man. He was, in fact, a soft touch for anyone in the racing world with a hard luck story. He gave considerable sums away to fellow jockeys who were having a hard time.

Lord Falmouth encouraged Fred to buy land and property in Newmarket and practically compelled the jockey to save at least some of the vast sums which were then coming his way.

Fred Archer could be uncommonly hard on a horse. One such animal, Muley Edris, was a vicious, bad-tempered two-year-old to which Fred had applied some brutal treatment in order to get the beast to win. Horses have long memories. On May 1, riding work on the horse, Fred dismounted to move some dolls. Muley Edris seized his chance and went for him. The colt got his teeth into Fred's arm and began to savage him. His knees were on the jockey's chest when his back legs slipped and he almost fell over. At that moment, help arrived and the horse galloped away. But the damage had been done - Fred could not ride and was in continual pain. He was in danger of losing his place in the jockeys' table and his income; worst of all his weight began to soar. He was due to ride Bend Or, the favourite for the Derby on 26 May. Fred was sent to the famous London surgeon, Sir James Paget. The surgeon, a non-racing man, had never heard of Fred Archer, so the jockey explained: 'Sir James, what you are in your profession, I am in mine.'

Fred recovered sufficiently to declare himself fit to ride in the Derby. The connections of Bend Or were not wholly convinced but bowed to Fred's insistence. The race bears recalling: Bend Or had sore shins which, like Fred's arm, refused to heal. Consequently, he did not have a race before the Derby and his full fitness could only be guessed. In the race, Fred dropped his whip. Riding with one arm and no whip, Fred managed to get Bend Or up on the line, winning by a head. It was a truly breath-taking performance. 

On 31 January, 1883, Fred married Helen Rose (Nellie) Dawson, the daughter of John Dawson, Matthew's brother. Lord Falmouth gave them a silver dinner service, Prince Batthyany gave the bride a jewelled bracelet set with a pearl 'the size of a walnut' and the groom's present to the bride was a lucky diamond horseshoe.

Some felt that the couple did not need luck. How wrong they were to be proved. 

Exactly a year later Helen gave birth to a son. He scarcely survived birth and died within a few hours. On November 8, 1884, Helen gave birth to a daughter, Nellie Rose.

Fred was sent a telegram and caught a train home from the races. His sister, Mrs Coleman, met him saying that Nellie was dying. Together they ran to his wife's bedside, where, moments later in convulsions, she died without recognising him. Fred was beyond despair and once or twice spoke of suicide. Friends persuaded him to take a break in America which, eventually, he did. He came back, his interest in racing rekindled, and rode 246 winners, his highest ever total. This was the summit of his career - but it brought him no happiness.

Classic wins:

1874:  Two Thousand Guineas - Atlantic

1875:  One Thousand Guineas - Spinaway

1875:  The Oaks - Spinaway

1877:  The Derby - Silvio

1877:  St Leger -Silvio

1878:  The Oaks - Jannette

1879 -  Two Thousand Guineas - Charibert

1979:  One Thousand Guineas - Wheel of Fortune

1879:  The Oaks - Wheel of Fortune

1880:  The Derby - Bend Or

1880:  St Leger - Bend Or

1881:  The Derby - Iroquois

1881:  St Leger - Iroquois

1882:  St Leger - Dutch Oven

1883:  Two Thousand Guineas - Galliard

1885:  Two Thousand Guineas - Paradox

1885:  The Derby - Melton

1885:  The Oaks - Lonely

1885:  St Leger - Melton

1886:  The Derby - Ormonde

1886:  St Leger - Ormonde

Big races:

1872:  Ayr Gold Cup - Alaric

1872:  Cesarewitch - Salvanos

1874:  Lincoln Handicap - Tomahawk

1876:  Cesarewitch - Rosebery

1976:  Ebor Handicap - Lilian

1877:  Gimcrack Stakes - King OLaf

1878:  Wokingham Stakes - Trappist

1878:  Champion Stakes - Jannette

1878:  Royal Hunt Cup - Julius Caesar

1878:  Dewhurst Stakes - Wheel of Fortune

1879:  Gimcrack Stakes - Duke of Cumberland

1879:  Portland Handicap - Hackthorpe

1880:  Dewhurst Stakes - Bal Gal

1881:  Dewhurst Stakes - Dutch Oven

1881:  Royal Hunt Cup - Peter

1881:  Sussex Stakes - Limestone

1881:  Champion Stakes - Bend Or

1882:  Champion Stakes - Tristan

1883:  Wokingham Stakes - Despair

1883:  Middle Park Stakes - Busybody

1883:  Gimcrack Stakes - Juventus

1884:  Wokingham Stakes - Energy

1884:  Dewhurst Stakes - Paradox

1884:  Middle Park Stakes - Melton

1884:  Champion Stakes - Geheimniss

1885:  Ebor Handicap - Mate

1885:  Middle Park Stakes - Minting

1885:  Sussex Stakes - Paradox

1885:  Dewhurst Stakes - Ormonde

1885:  Champion Stakes - Energy

1886:  Champion Stakes - Melton

Fred also won the French Derby twice and the Grand Prix de Paris three times.

It has been confirmed by DNA that Bend Or was in fact the racehorse Tadcaster as rumoured at the time.