Tom Chaloner

Tom was born on June 2nd, 1839, in Manchester and, in 1852, along with his two brothers Willie and Dick, went to Ashgill, the Yorkshire racing establishment of the legendary John Osborne. There, he fell in love with, and eventually married, Ellen, Osborne’s daughter. She gave him eight children and the family lived at Spring Cottage, Malton.

Tom's first ride in public was at Carlisle on Sunday, July 7th 1850, finishing last of four. He was then able to ride at 4st 7lb. His first win came on the unusually named Sister to Mrs Rigby which won a selling stakes at Liverpool on Thursday, 12th July, 1855. 

Tom first came to prominence when riding the two-year-old Manganese to victory in the inaugural Portland Plate at Doncaster on St Leger Day, Wednesday 12 September 1855. In those days, horses often ran in two races on the same afternoon, and so it was with Manganese, which, ridden by John Osborne, had already won the first race on the card, the Municipal Stakes. The following year, on June 25 at Newcastle, Tom won the Northumberland Plate on the 8-1 shot Zeta by half a length from Bolton.

Owing to his light weight - he could ride below six stone - his rides had been mainly confined to handicaps, but in 1857 he ventured into weight for age races and was rewarded with a victory on Vedette in the Doncaster Cup. In 1860, he won the Liverpool Spring Cup on 4/1 chance Moorcock. 

In 1861, Tom, no longer a lightweight, was offered the ride on the 66-1 outsider Caller Ou in the St Leger. Mr William I'Anson, its owner, thought so little of the filly's chances that he only allowed her to run to please a friend.  One racing scribe described the finish thus: 'the favourite Kettledrum appeared to be winning in a canter when suddenly a brown filly (Caller Ou) dashed out of the ruck, seemed to pin him on the rails, and had beaten him a short head almost before Snowden (Kettledrum's jockey) was able to realize the altered aspect of affairs. Kettledrum was in front a stride past the post and was, we think, unlucky not to win, so Chaloner deserves all the more credit for his brilliant and successful effort'. 

On the strength of this win,  Tom was invited to Newmarket to ride for James (Jem) Godding and, in the colours of intrepid gambler R.C.Naylor, he won the 1862 Oaks on the 20-1 outsider, Feu de Joie. Given that just two days earlier Caractacus had won the Derby at 66-1, it was little wonder the bookmakers were smiling.

That same year, Naylor also owned a 2-y-o called Macaroni which was beaten in a two-horse race on his only start as a juvenile. Despite this unpromising debut, Naylor had massive confidence in the horse, and quietly backed him throughout the winter to win him £100,000 in the 1863 Derby. 

Tom Chaloner was booked to ride Macaroni throughout his second season. The tale of that Derby Day is worth the telling. 

Not since 1857, when the race had been run in driving rain, half-sleet, half-snow, had there been a wet Derby – that all changed as a steady monotonous downpour continued throughout the day. Unsettled by the weather, Macaroni tried to bolt on the way down, forcing Tom to his feet in the stirrups as he fought to hold him. At the start, horses became fractious and ill-tempered as they stood in the relentless rain – it took an incredible 32 attempts to get the field off and running, some half-hour late. The runners bunched rounding a treacherous Tattenham Corner and a jockey (D Hughes) screamed for room. His horse, Saccharometer, the second favourite, struck into the heels of one in front and fell heavily, his jockey escaping with a severe shaking. Another horse, Fantastic, jumped over the stricken Saccharometer and fell on his nose and knees, bringing down King of the Vale (Johnny Daley) in the process. At the furlong marker George Fordham sent Lord Clifden, the favourite, into the lead and looked sure to win until Tom, riding for all his worth, unleashed his mount - Macaroni and Lord Clifden flashed past the post together. It seemed to most spectators that Lord Clifden had prevailed; indeed, Tom, as they returned to weigh in, heartily congratulated George Fordham on his victory. Both jockeys were stunned when Macaroni was called the winner (by a head). R.C. Naylor, its owner, having landed some massive bets, threw his arms around his bemused jockey in celebration.

Having won the 1861 St Leger on Caller Ou, Tom was back at Doncaster the following year when he sought and found a second victory in the race, forcing the bad-tempered Marquis home a head in front of Buckstone.

William l’Anson, for whom Tom had won the St Leger, now owned and trained the brilliant Blair Athol who, on his debut, had won the 1864 Derby with – according to one report - ‘ridiculous ease’. In fact, the 13/1 winner had prevailed by just 2 lengths. No less than 15 spur marks were counted on his side, administered by the unsteady Jim Snowden, then struggling with alcoholism. (The horse was lucky to have been in the line up - a stableboy, in the pay of bookmakers, had tried to prevent the horse from running at Epsom by continually kicking the colt on his legs and genitals.)

The horse was then sent to contest a race in France, the valuable Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp. 

Jim Snowden, who had ridden the horse in the Derby, was replaced by Tom. It was to prove a terrifying experience. Rough seas made the crossing to France perilous; they were intimidated by a hostile reception and the horse was left stressed and upset after an abortive gallop in unfamiliar conditions. 

On the course, Tom was threatened with physical attack and, on the way to the start, the crowd began throwing things at both horse and jockey. It was a miracle that the pair finished second. (One paper reported, possibly unjustly, that Tom had been caught napping. Under the circumstances, this seems unlikely.)

Tom’s association with Caller Ou was nothing less than sensational. The horse ran 101 races in six years, winning 51 of them. Tom rode her in almost all her races. In 1863, Tom rode the mare in 27 races, winning 18.

Most idols have an Achilles Heel and even Tom's warmest admires would admit to him being occasionally guilty of foul riding, especially towards the end of his days in the saddle, yet they would have seen this as part of his incredible desire to win, and forgiven him. 

Tom, a reliable and unassuming man. He rode five St Leger winners and three Two Thousand Guineas winners. He also won the Derby and the Oaks. Tom also trained Scot Free to win the 1884 Two Thousand Guineas under Billy Platt.

From his earnings he bought a pub for his parents, and saw them do very well.

He had only been training for a short time when his health began to fail.

Tom died at Osborne House on 3rd April 1886, aged 46. He left a personal estate of £799 1s. 6d. 

His funeral took place on Wednesday 7 April at Newmarket Cemetery. His brother-in-law, the Reverend George Osborne, officiated.  His two sons, Thomas and George, led the mourners. Wreaths were sent by all the top jockeys of the day including Fred and Charles Archer, George Barrett and Billy Platt.

The spot chosen for Tom's last resting place was on the right-hand side of the cemetery, next to the grave of his old weighing room colleague, Tom Aldcroft. Both graves faced the beautiful tomb of Mrs Fred Archer.

Ellen managed to retain her husband's licence – a unique feat in those times – to train horses on the Heath. His son, Tom Junior, won the 1895 Cambridgeshire with Marco and dedicated his win to the memory of his father. Ellen still rode out on her hunter well into her nineties. Having outlived her husband and all of her sons, she died on 5th March 1944 and is buried in St Agnes’ Church, Newmarket.

Tom’s Family

Tom Chaloner’s parents were Thomas Chaloner (1815-1859) and Mary Thomson (1815-1889). Tom was baptized on 10th July 1839 at Manchester Cathedral. He married Ellen Osborne (1846-1944) in the Spring of 1865 at Leyburn District, Yorkshire.

Tom and Ellen had eight children: Philip Arrowsmith (1875-1910), George (1869-1939) and Thomas (1866-1943), who all trained at Newmarket. Another brother, Richard (1873-1943), was a successful jumps jockey. Other sons were Henry, John and William. There was one daughter, Mary Ellen.

George Chaloner rode for a short time but was forced out of the saddle when his weight dramatically increased. George was apprenticed to his mother and, soon after she had received her licence, he rode a horse at Hampton Court for her called  Jacob on which he claimed his apprentice allowance. He won, but Charles Wood, the jockey, objected that George Chaloner was not 'lawfully apprenticed' because a boy could not be apprenticed to a woman. The stewards were in a quandary until a barrister-sportsman noticed a case of a boy who was apprenticed to a woman plumber. The stewards overruled Wood's objection.

Tom Chaloner’s classic wins:

Two Thousand Guineas: Macaroni (1863) and Moslem (1868) dead-heat with Formosa.

The Derby: Macaroni (1863)

The Oaks: Fue de Joie (1862)

St Leger: Caller Ou (1861), The Marquis (1862), Achievement (1867), Formosa (1868) and Craig Millar (1875)

Other big winners:

1855: Portland Handicap – Manganese 

1856: Northumberland Plate – Zeta 

1857: Doncaster Cup – Vedette 

1858: Great Metropolitan Handicap – Telegram 

1858: Royal Hunt Cup – Hesperithusa 

1860: Doncaster Cup – Sabreur 

1861: Lincolnshire Handicap – Benbow 

1862: City and Suburban Handicap – Sawcutter 

1863: Northumberland Plate – Caller Ou 

1863: Doncaster Cup – Macaroni 

1864: Northumberland Plate – Caller Ou 

1867: Cesarewitch Handicap – Julius 

1869: Ebor Handicap – Fortunio

1869: Middle Park Stakes – Frivolity 

1875: Goodwood Cup – Aventuriere  

1876: Doncaster Cup – Craig Millar