George Avila

George Avila

Article by Derek Gay

The son of racehorse trainer George Avila and his wife Rosie, George Stanley Avila was born on 11 July 1893 at Navestock Hall, Grangewood, Romford, Essex.

Oddly, his father always called him Stanley.

Young George was taught to ride by his father and, by the age of ten, was out with the local hunt.

He was first apprenticed to Bill Elsey and re-indentured to trainer Charles Victor Tabor before returning to ride again for his father. He rode a total of 13 winners on the Flat.

Increasing weight saw him switch to jumping: he joined George Poole's stables at Lewes in Sussex and began riding plenty of winners.

Poole's mantra was 'a winner's a winner' whether the race was big or small: they targeted the smaller local courses and became a feared partnership.

The stable was backed up by the Rees brothers, who were just beginning their careers as amateurs.

This arrangement enabled George to be constantly in the top half-dozen in the jockeys' table (he was twice runner-up, in 1912 with 63 wins & 1913 with 47).

In 9 seasons' riding (3 were affected by the war & his final season only 3 months in) he rode 217 winners (plus a further 10 in Ireland during the 1916 season).

He had two Grand National rides (one in a wartime National). His biggest win on Rome in the 1914 Liverpool Hurdle.

At the start of the war, he - alongside George Poole – signed up. George became a Sergeant in the North Staffordshire Regiment: he was allowed time off to ride, including a spell in Ireland in 1916.

Having come through the war unscathed, he resumed his career in 1919 but made a slow start to the campaign.

He fell ill that March as a flu pandemic swept through Europe.

Unmarried, he was nursed in his final days by George Poole's sister, Minnie.

It was thought that there was a romance between the pair: sadly, George died at his home in Grangewood on March 13 that year. He was 25.

George was well-thought of by his fellow jockeys, Ernie Piggott describing him as a fine fellow. Many of his weighing room colleagues attended his funeral.

Minnie never married after his death, spending much of her time as a secretary in Ireland, where she bought horses for her brother.

Fred Rees stepped into the void left by his great friend and went on to become champion jockey with Poole's help.

George almost certainly would have been on Poole's 1921 Grand National winner, Shaun Spadah, which Fred rode to victory.

Fred Rees received a letter from George's father congratulating him but lamenting the fact that 'dear Stanley's great wish to ride the Grand National winner would now never be'.

George's biggest win came in 1914 on Romeo in the Liverpool Hurdle.

A lot of the above information was supplied by Fred Rees' daughter, Patsy, and by George Poole's nephew, who sadly passed away some years ago.

The following additional information on George Avila’s Flat career has been supplied by Alan Trout.

Although much better known as a jump jockey, George Avila did have some success on the flat, riding 13 winners between 1908 and 1912.

His first ride was at Carlisle on June 30, 1908 when he finished last of five on Quintet in the Lowther Apprentice Plate, won by John Thompson on Sir Harry. It was not until September 23 that he had his first success when Dundee, trained by William Elsey, won the Nostell Apprentice Plate at Pontefract. He followed this up by winning the Easby Nursery Handicap on an unnamed two-year-old gelding at Catterick on October 27. George carried one pound overweight at 6st 3lb and the winning margin was six lengths.

The year 1909 went even better for the young jockey with nine wins. He began the season on a high note by winning Blankney Selling Plate on Florestan, owned by his father, at Lincoln on March 24. He was also successful in the Copthorne Plate at Epsom on April 21, when his mount Croghan won by two lengths, the runner-up being Vodki, ridden by Tony Escott, another jockey destined to do even better over jumps. 

It was a quieter year for George in 1910 with only one win, at Alexandra Park on April 2, when Anvil won the Two-Year-Old Selling Plate. George carried one pound overweight at 7st 10lb. 

He then turned his attention to jump racing and fid not ride on the Flat in 1911, but he had one winner the following year, his father’s horse Angelus, who landed the All-Aged Selling Plate at Newbury on June 13, 1912, carrying 9st 4lb.  

His final ride on the Flat was the following year, when Jersey belle finished unplaced in the South Denes Selling Welter Plate at Yarmouth in September 17, 1913, a race won by Walter Griggs on Oneida II, one of the four winners he had that afternoon.

George Avila’s wins on the Flat were, in chronological order:

1. Dundee, Pontefract, September 23, 1908

2.b. g. by William Rufus out of The Rose of Persia, Catterick Bridge, October 27, 1908

3. Florestan, Lincoln, March 24, 1909

4. Mary B., Nottingham, April 6, 1909

5. Croghan, Epsom, April 21, 1909

6. Jacob’s Ladder, Haydock Park, May 14, 1909

7. Jacob’s Ladder, Salisbury, May 21, 1909

8. Cecil Frail, Windsor, July 21, 1909

9. Periwinkle II, Hurst Park, July 23, 1909

10. br. f. by Simontault out of Queen of Leinster, Lingfield Park, October 16, 1909

11. Stepney, Newbury, November 4, 1909

12. Anvil, Alexandra Park, April 2, 1910

13. Angelus, Newbury, June 13, 1912