Long before the first Derby or St Leger were conceived, Frank Buckle - born at Newmarket on July 18, 1766 - was packing his bags, preparing to leave home. He was nine. The son of a Newmarket saddler, he had no intention of becoming one himself as his father wished. Instead, with a passion for horses burning inside, he ran away from home and got employment in the stables of Lord Grosvenor for whom he was to ride two Oaks winners.
A quick, focused lad – one determined to become a jockey – he studied the best riders of the day, particularly Samuel Chifney, the principal jockey to George lV. Buckle had his first ride in May, 1783 (carrying 3st 13 lbs) on a bay colt named Wolf but it was to be some time before he regularly rode winners.
He won the Oaks nine times, starting with Nike (1797), Belliosiana (1798) and Bellina (1799) – a remarkable hat-trick. Jockeys were allowed to bet in those days, and Buckle had taken long odds that he would ride the 1802 Derby/Oaks double. This he duly did, on Tyrant and Scotia. He rode a total of five Derby winners.
His last race was on Conservator, November 5th 1831 – he was aged 63 and had been riding for exactly half a century. At the time he was earning £1,200 per year.
Intellectually, Frank was not the brightest of people, but he was totally honest, unlike most of his fellow jockeys. His integrity is perhaps best exemplified by an incident at Lewes. Without a ride in a particular race, he bet heavily on one of the runners. He was then offered a ride in the same race which he accepted – then won the race!
He had a farm in Peterborough on which he enjoyed his retirement, buying bullocks and cows and becoming master of the hounds. He kept greyhounds for coursing, gamecocks for the pit and bulldogs for fighting – he also became famous for his butter. Invariably neat in his dress - he wore beautifully made boots and breeches - he was a lover of the theatre and would occasionally commission plays to be performed in towns where he was riding. He kept himself fit by constantly riding from Peterborough to Newmarket and back – a distance of 92 miles – always getting back to his farm for tea at six.
He married twice. There were no children by his first wife but the second – herself an extremely beautiful woman – bore him three sons. He had the boys well educated, but would not allow them to become jockeys, so one became a solicitor, the second a druggist and the third a brewer. But the happiness was not to last.
After 48 years in the saddle - on February 7th 1832 - just three months after he had ridden his last race, Frank Buckle died of inflammation. He was buried in the country churchyard of Long Orton in the grave of his father.
Frank – just like Sam Chifney Jnr. – hated making the running, always preferring to come from behind.
He was the outstanding rider of his generation winning 27 Classics. This feat is all the more remarkable when it is remembered that he had been riding for 20 years before the 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas had been inaugurated. He won the 2,000 Guineas five times, the 1,000 Guineas six times, the Derby five times, the Oaks nine times (which still remains the record), and the St Leger twice. It was not until Lester Piggott’s victory on Comanche Run in the St Leger that the record was finally eclipsed.
Frank won the 1827 2,000 Guineas at the age of 61.
He regarded the 1792 Derby winner John Bull as the best horse he ever rode.
Frank had an atrocious memory – he could not give an account of a race he’d just contested nor could he remember the name of what horse he had ridden.
Parents - John Buckle, Sarah Spooner; grandparents - Samuel Buckle and Elizabeth Harrison; great -grandparents - Francis Buckle and Sarah
Frank Buckle’s classic wins:
Two Thousand Guineas: Hephestion (1810), Pindarrie (1820), Reginald (1821). Pastille (1822) and Turcoman (1827)
One Thousand Guineas: Corinne (1818), Rowena (1820), Zeal (1821), Whizgig (1822), Zinc (1823) and Arab (1827)
The Derby: John Bull (1792), Daedalus (1794), Tyrant (1802), Phantom (1811) and Emilius (1823)
The Oaks: Nike (1797), Bellissima (1798), Belina (1799), Scotia (1802), Theophania (1803), Metora (1805), Neva (1817),
Corinne (1818) and Zinc (1823)
St Leger: Champion (1800) and Sancho (1804)
