Jack & Rightun - Sandown 1939
John (Jack) Phillip Bissill, a successful jockey and trainer, was born at Bingham, Nottinghamshire on November 19, 1914. Jack and his brother Rippon (Rip) were the sons of Billy Bissill, one of the most successful NH jockeys of his time.
Back in 1908, Billy Bissill had had to choose between stablemates Rubio and Mattie Macgregor, both trained by Fred Withington, in the Grand National. He elected to ride Mattie Macgregor and finished second, ten lengths behind Rubio.
Billy married a daughter of Rippon Brockton, a top-class amateur who rode in 617 races and won 256 of them. Their daughter married successful trainer Bill Dutton (who had won the 1928 Grand National on 100/1 outsider Tipperary Tim), and their daughter Mary married Malton trainer Pat Rohan. Hence, it was very much a racing family.
Jack started out as an amateur in 1933, turning professional in 1935. He rode mainly for Tom Coulthwaite and George Owen, as well as for his brother Rip, who trained at Aslockton, two miles east of Bingham.
As a rider, Jack achieved his biggest success on Rightun in the 1937 Scottish Grand National at Bogside, trained by Rip Bissill. Altogether he won 16 races on Rightun, including the 1938 Grand International Chase at Sandown and Birmingham’s Coleshill Chase three years running (1936-38). Jack won for last time on Rightun when finishing alone at Leicester on November 20, 1939.
Jack’s other major victory was the 1938 Grand Annual Chase on Novgorod at the Cheltenham Festival. He rode 66/1 shot Rock Lad in that year’s Grand National, falling when out of contention. He was in sparkling form during that spring of 1938 and rode winners at several tracks destined not to survive beyond the war, including Melton Hunt’s Open Handicap Chase on March 28 and Quorn Hunt’s Open Handicap Chase on May 2, both on Double Royal, and landed a double at Tarporley on April 7 aboard Muezzin and Shrewmouse, all of these being trained by Rip Bissill.
His riding carer was interrupted by the war, during which he served with the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards and was awarded the Military Cross. He made a brief return to action when riding a double at Wetherby’s 1941 Boxing Day meeting on Bastille and Chesterton.
Jack resumed his riding career in 1945 and was soon back among the winners. One of his more eventful victories came on an 11-year-old novice chaser named Double Sam at Southwell on January 11, 1946, when all eight runners fell at some point in the race, Jack being one of three riders to remount and complete the course.
He rode plenty of winners during the spring of 1946, including doubles at Bangor-on-Dee and Southwell in April, at Southwell again in May, and victory on a decent novice chaser of George Owen’s named Dog Watch.
He enjoyed a similarly successful campaign in 1946/47, getting off the mark promptly with a Devon & Exeter double in August, both horses trained by his brother Rip. He won four races on Rip’s selling chaser Vitement – at Wye in September, Newport in October, Wolverhampton in November and Leicester in December – and scored twice within four days in October on Rip’s 13-year-old selling hurdler King’s Gap. Towards the end of November, he rode a Haydock Park double on selling hurdler Sans Atout and promising novice chaser Russian Hero, and won the Birmingham Handicap Chase on George Owen’s Bullington. He also rode Bullington in the 1947 Grand National but only got as far as the third fence.
Jack began to wind down his riding commitments the following season, one of his last winners being a dead-heat on Usinia, trained by Bill Dutton, in a Nottingham maiden hurdle on October 27, 1947. He hung up his boots at the end of that season to take up training.
Based at Enville Hall, near Stourbridge, he combined training with farming. The best horses he trained were Pintail, Ostrich Duck, Astbury and Choreographer, the latter pair being owned by Brian Jenks. Choreographer finished second to Dunkirk in the 1965 Mackeson Gold Cup, while Astbury was a close-up third to Specify and Black Secret in the 1971 Grand National.
Jack retired from training in 1981. He died, aged 73, at the Priory Hospital, Edgbaston in Birmingham on June 16, 1988, following a short illness. He left a widow, Eileen, and a daughter, Diana Williams, who was the chairperson of the Lady Jockeys’ Association.
Sandown 1938: Jack, left, just leads on Rightun (no. 6). Jack said before the race that if he could get the lead he would win - which he did after making all the running.
