Article by Chris Pitt
Fred Cheshire was born in Swindon on April 5, 1930. He came from a racing background. His father, Howard, was a jockey, as was his uncle, Frederick Cheshire, who died of a fractured skull after his mount, Cormac, fell in Sandown Park hurdle race on December 10, 1921. Fred was named after his late uncle.
He left school at the age of fourteen and became apprenticed to R. J. ‘Jack’ Colling who trained at Ellesmere House, Newmarket. He was granted a jockey’s licence in 1945 and rode his first winner on Cachou at Liverpool on June 27, 1946, but his fondest memory of those early days was leading Dante in the colt’s final gallop before he won the last Derby run at Newmarket in 1945.
He remained with Colling for eight years, including time spent in the forces. First jockey to Colling at the time was (Sir) Gordon Richards who became Fred’s all-time hero, having had the chance to study the style of the multiple champion jockey on many occasions on the training gallops.
When Richards retired in 1954 and started training at Beckhampton, Fred attained what he regarded as the pinnacle of his career when he began riding for his idol. On August 8, 1955 he rode the Richards-trained Merry Widow, a two-year-old filly owned by Dorothy Paget, to victory at Folkestone. That was Fred’s only winner of the season. The following year he rode two winners, both trained by Sir Gordon, these being Alaska at Yarmouth on July 11 and Dorothy Paget’s Good Effect at Leicester on September 24. In 1957 he rode Sir Gordon’s Honey Harvest to victory at Chepstow on August 6 but a bad fall later that year resulted in Fred having to have a lung removed.
He was back in the saddle in 1958 and again rode just one winner, on Pamorpee at Haydock on October 2, for R. G. Kennett, who was primarily a National Hunt trainer but had the occasional runner on the Flat. That would be his last winner in Britain for almost five years.
Fred’s association with Sir Gordon lasted just over seven years, during which time he had the distinction of riding horses owned by the Queen. Having decided the time had come to move on, Fred and his wife Isobel moved to Lambourn, where he was regularly used by Peter Walwyn and rode as second jockey to Peter Hastings-Bass who trained at Kingsclere. In 1963 he won on Walwyn’s Gwysaney at Chepstow on June 4 and on the Hastings-Bass trained Indian Spice at Bath on July 6. Again though, his career was interrupted by injury when another bad spill resulted in a broken coccyx (the bone at the bottom of the spine).
Although he rode winners in Belgium, it was 1967 before Fred had another in Britain, this being on Maggie’s Pet for Lambourn trainer George Spann on April 22. He doubled his score for the season when winning on Peter Walwyn’s Caldy at Chepstow on August 29.
His last season as a jockey was in 1968, during which he rode two more winners, Souza Rose for Spann at Nottingham on May 27 and Auspice for Walwyn on June 26. He had his final two rides at Newbury on October 25, aboard Peter Walwyn’s Jack-Knife – a race in which Sir Gordon’s younger brother Colin Richards, by then aged 59, also had a mount – and on newcomer Salutary, trained by Bill Payne, in the 35-runner Radley Maiden Stakes for two-year-old fillies.
Subsequent disc surgery at Cambridge Hospital, an operation paid for by the Injured Jockeys Fund, relieved years of suffering from the effects of his broken coccyx and prevented lasting damage.
Fred and Isobel moved back to Newmarket and, again with the help of the IJF, opened an antique shop which included various items of racing memorabilia. However, when the recession really began to bite they decided to sell the business.
Keen to return the favour for the all the help and expert treatment he had received courtesy of the Injured Jockeys Fund, Fred got involved with the charity and became a racecourse regular at Newmarket, Fakenham and Huntingdon as an ever-smiling face running the IJF’s stall, selling their calendars, diaries, Christmas cards and other merchandise. Often accompanied by Isobel, Fred ran the stall on a voluntary basis for many years and gained great satisfaction in obtaining funds for the IJF.
Their valuable contribution did not go unnoticed and in August 2000, as part of the Queen Mother’s 100th birthday celebrations, Fred and Isobel were invited guests to the Birthday Pageant at Horse Guard’s Parade. Shortly after that, Fred received an award for ‘Unsung Heroes (Racing Section)’ organised by the Cambridge Evening News and presented by their editor at a special dinner.
Fred Cheshire died on 12 October 2014, aged 84, leaving a widow, Isobel, four daughters, nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. At his request his body was donated to medical research.
