Chris Ancil

1904 - 1966

Christopher Charles Ancil was born at Weston-on-the-Green, Oxfordshire in 1904. Along with his brother Bernard, they enjoyed success in the amateur ranks in the 1920s before Chris turned professional. 

He rode his first winner under National Hunt rules on Drury Lane II in the Waddesdon Chase at the annual Vale of Aylesbury meeting on April 10, 1924 and went on to win seven races on that horse, including three victories in successive years at the Vale of Aylesbury fixture and two on successive days at Monmouth.   

Chris Ancil’s seven wins on Drury Lane II were, in chronological order:

April 10, 1924: Waddesdon Chase, Vale of Aylesbury

March 2, 1925: Three-Mile Chase, Hawthorn Hill

April 2, 1925: Aylesbury Farmers’ Chase, Vale of Aylesbury

September 30, 1925: Monmouth Handicap Chase, Monmouth

April 8, 1926: Open Foxhunters’ Handicap Chase, Vale of Aylesbury

September 29, 1926: Monmouth Handicap Chase, Monmouth

September 30, 1926: High Sheriff’s Handicap Chase, Monmouth

With Chris and Bernard both proving to be above average amateurs, their father, Mr W. B. Ancil, purchased two horses, one for each of his sons to ride. Bernard was given one named Muster, while Chris got Carfax, bought from Lord Greville for £40. It proved a good investment, for Chris was to win no less than 16 races on him between March 1927 and February 1930, culminating in the four-mile Tipperary Chase at Windsor when Carfax was 14 years old.  

Chris Ancil’s 16 wins on Carfax were, in chronological order:

March 16, 1927: Rugby Foxhunters’ Chase, Rugby Hunt

March 31, 1927: National Hunt Open Hunters’ Handicap Chase, Vale of Aylesbury

April 18, 1927: Wicken Park Chase, Grafton Hunt (Towcester)

April 25, 1927: Eastnor Hunters’ Handicap Chase, Colwall Park

May 2, 1927: Pershore Hunters’ Chase, Pershore

August 28, 1927: High Sheriff’s Amateur Riders’ Handicap Chase, Monmouth

November 7, 1927: Herefordshire Handicap Chase, Colwall Park

November 19, 1927: Lysaght Amateur Riders’ Handicap Chase, Chepstow

December 7, 1927: Forest Amateur Riders’ Handicap Chase, Windsor

January 27, 1928: Amateur Riders’ Handicap Chase, Kempton Park 

February 1, 1928: Stewards’ Handicap Chase, Gatwick

March 20, 1928: Shrewsbury Handicap Chase, Wolverhampton 

April 29, 1929: Plodders’ Chase, Shirley Park (walkover)

May 20, 1929: Stukeley Hurdle, Huntingdon

November 16, 1929: Chepstow Handicap Chase, Chepstow

February 19, 1930: Tipperary Chase, Windsor 

In 1927, Chris and Bernard rode their respective horses from their home at Weston-on-the-Green to Aylesbury racecourse, a distance of some 25 miles. Chris won the National Hunt Open Hunters’ Handicap Chase on Carfax; only two finished so he received third as well as first prize money. Bernard rode Muster to finish alone in the Waddesdon Chase and so collected first, second and third prize money, then they turned out again to win the Aylesbury Farmers’ Chase. Hence, their two horses won three races, with one second- and two third-place prizes. Then they hacked them home again, all on the same day. 

On another, less successful, occasion, Chris took Carfax to Colwall Park by himself, travelling by train – there weren’t many horseboxes in those days. He rode three miles to Bletchington Station, loaded the horse onto the train, took him to Colwall Park, where he got someone to lead it round the paddock for him. Carfax fell at halfway and Chris broke a collarbone, then had to take the horse all the way back home. 

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While Bernard remained as an amateur throughout his career, Chris turned professional in February 1928, a couple of days after riding Carfax to victory in the Amateur Riders’ Handicap Chase at Kempton Park. Carfax then ensured that Chris’s first ride in the paid ranks was a winning one by following up in the Stewards’ Handicap Chase at Gatwick. 

Chris was all set to ride Carfax in the 1928 Grand National but met with an accident ta couple of weeks before the race, so Bernard took the ride. That was the year in which 100-1 outsider Tipperary Tim was the only horse to finish without falling, and Carfax was among the 40 horses who failed to complete. 

Chris enjoyed his most successful seasons in 1927/28 and 1929/30 with nine winners in each. He rode six in 1930/31 and five in 1932/33. He rode about 60 winners altogether during his career. 

When racing resumed after the war, Chris rode three winners during the truncated 1945/46 campaign, two of them within the space of eight days in March 1946 on novice hurdler Legend Of Rank. His last three wins came the following season, landing three in a row on Prickly Pear, namely the Nunnerley Handicap Chase at Woore on October 17, the Ebbw Vale Handicap Chase at Newport on October 30, and the Cissbury Chase at Fontwell Park on November 6, 1946. 

Chris Ancil died on October 24, 1966, aged 62. He and his brother Bernard were cousins of the successful National Hunt jockey (and later trainer) Derek Ancil