Reg Cartwright

Reg Cartwright

1919-1996

Reginald George Cartwright was born in York on October 10, 1919, the son of Thomas and Eva Cartwright. The family moved to Sheephouse, Drogheda, in Ireland when Reg was a child. He became apprenticed to Roderick More O’Ferrall, who trained at Kildangan, Co. Kildare and went on to become champion apprentice jockey of Ireland. 

He enjoyed plenty of success in Ireland during the late 1930s and early 40s. One of the best horses he rode was the two-year-old colt Blackboard, who was trained by More O’Ferrall. Reg won three times on him in 1940 including the Tyros Stakes at the Curragh. That victory was the 40th of Reg’s career.

He returned to Britain in 1944 and took out both a Flat and a National Hunt jockey’s licence, enabling him to ride under both rules. He married Betty Woodage and, after a brief spell living in Wantage, Berkshire, moved back to his northern roots and rode for Walter Easterby’s Tadcaster, Yorkshire stable. 

Although focusing more on the Flat, he managed to ride eight winners over jumps, the first of them at Catterick Bridge on February 24, 1945 when guiding Vain Knight to a six-length success in the Reeth Handicap Chase. It was the 12-year-old’s first victory, but he would go on to add several more, usually ridden by Dick Curran. 

Over the next four seasons Reg added another seven winners under NH rules, his last coming at Haydock Park on January 7, 1950, when he rode Bilsby, trained by Walter Easterby, to win division one of the Birchfield Maiden Hurdle by three lengths, beating champion jockey Tim Molony on Astara. 

Reg even had a ride over the formidable Grand National fences in the 1947 Becher Chase. His mount, Emerald, was one of 12 fallers in the race won by Eddie Newman on the Irish-trained Keep Faith. 

His winners under National Hunt rules were, in chronological order:

1. Vain Knight, Catterick Bridge, February 24, 1945

2. Blue Pennant, Wetherby, March 22, 1946

3. Trig, Wetherby, November 23, 1946

4. Clashing Arms, Doncaster, December 6, 1946

5. Acthon Major, Haydock Park, January 3, 1947

6. Northern News, Southwell, October 11, 1947

7. Proteus, Catterick Bridge, March 6, 1948

8. Bilsby, Haydock Park, January 7, 1950 

Unfortunately, although he had plenty of rides, he found winners on the Flat hard to come by. They included: 

One from 28 rides in 1949: Lough Carra at Liverpool on March 24.                        

One from 52 rides in 1951: Persian Valley at Haydock Park on October 6.                           One from 48 rides in 1953: Pickering Vale at Ripon on August 3.

He rode two winners in 1955 and one in 1956 before relinquishing his licence in 1958.

He became a work rider for Dick Hern at West Ilsley, Berkshire and renewed his jockey’s licence in 1964. He continued to have the occasional ride in public, essentially on horses that required an educational run. One of his final rides was on the three-year-old Allocate, unplaced in division two of the Spring Maiden Plate at Newbury on April 17, 1970. He last held a licence in 1971.

Taking a break from racing and whilst living in West Ilsley, Reg worked at A.E.R.E Harwell.

“Working in a type of spacesuit scrubbing radioactive stuff and often going with the end results to be stored at places like Windscale or loaded onto ships to be dumped far out at sea.”

Reg Cartwright died in February 1996 in Wokingham, Berkshire, aged 76