Bernard Carslake 

Bernard Brantham Carslake was born in Caulfield, Melbourne on July 14th 1886. A big-framed Australian, ‘Brownie’ Carslake – so nicknamed because of his sallow complexion (brought about by years of “existing on a cup of tea and hope” as he put it) – first came to England in 1906. He was never officially apprenticed but was taught to ride by his father, a well-known Caulfield trainer. 

His weight was his obsession: he constantly fought the always-increasing weight his muscular body was meant to carry.

His first winner was Lady Watkins at a Bush meeting in his native land.

Carslake, a stylish dresser, had impeccable manners and an ability to mix easily with any level of society. He married Annie Langley on November 13th at the Church of St John the Evangelist, Leeds. He was in Austria when The Great War began and fled to Romania disguised as a railway fireman. He then fled to Russia where, in 1916, he was champion jockey. The next year’s Russian Revolution made him a fugitive again and he fled back to England. He brought with him a large sum of money in roubles, only to find the currency worthless.  

Ever resilient, he quickly picked up his racing career. Three times he won the St Leger, twice the 1,000 Guineas and twice the Ascot Gold Cup. He was also successful in the 2,000 Guineas and the Oaks.  He was a demon cricketer and in the 1922 Jockey Boxing Championship defeated J.Evans in a Charity Tournament which raised over £5,000 for Sussex County Hospital.

Then, gradually, a lifetime of fasting began to take its toll. Carslake refused to recognize the decline in his abilities until 1928 when he became a trainer – but 12 months later he was back in the saddle. It was a bad move. In 1940, having just won by a short head on Ipswich, he collapsed in the weighing room at Alexandra Park. The next year - on Tuesday evening, July 29, 1941, aged 55 - having retired to his home in Whitsbury, Salisbury, the jockey with the hooked nose and protruding chin passed away. He left £1,417. 14s. 5d.

He became the first Australian jockey to adopt the short leather Tod Sloan style of riding. A poisoned leg prevented Carslake from riding in April 1928.

Carslake had no liking for switchback courses, preferring the wide-open spaces of Newmarket and Doncaster. His record at Epsom, Alexandra Park, Brighton and, to a lesser extent, Goodwood, was poor.

His wife Annie was granted a decree nisi in an undefended action for divorce. She gave evidence that her husband admitted infidelity in 1930 and they had separated in 1931. She revealed that she had her husband watched in the last year and that he was living with another woman in Bradford.

In May 1930, Carslake was fined £10 for dangerous driving and ignoring police signals. The police gave evidence that they were compelled to chase the jockey a long distance by motor car.

In April 1927, riding Birthright at Newmarket, the colt bolted. By the time Carslake had pulled it up, it had covered 10 miles.

Bernard Carslake’s classic wins:

Two Thousand Guineas: Tetratema (1920)

One Thousand Guineas: Ferry (1918) and Silver Urn (1922)

The Oaks (Light Brocade (1934)

St Leger: Keysoe (1919), Salmon Trout (1924) and Scottish Union (1938)

Other big wins:

1919:  Portland Handicap - Irish Elegance

1919:  Ayr Gold Cup - Beresina

1921:  Ebor Handicap - March Along

1921:  Portland Handicap - Glanmerin

1921:  July Cup - Tetratema

1921:  Sussex Stakes - Sunblaze

1921:  Lincoln Handicap - Soranus

1923:  Sussex Stakes - Hurry Up

1924:  Cambridgeshire - Twelve Pointer

1927:  Ascot Gold Cup - Foxlaw

1927:  Stewards Cup - Priory Park

1928:  City & Suburban - Priory Park

1928:  Portland Handicap - Tag End

1928:  Nunthorpe Stakes - Tag End

1928:  Royal Hunt Cup - Priory Park

1928:  Ascot Gold Cup - inversion

1930:  Nunthorpe Stakes - Tag End

1932:  Portland Handicap - Polar Bear

1934:  Portland Handicap - Rosemary's Pet

1934:  Victoria Cup - Alluvial

1938:  Goodwood Cup - Epigram