Frederick Close
Article by Alan Trout
Frederik William (Fred) Close rode 15 winners over jumps between 1907 and 1909. A victory on four-year-old Jessie in the Windsor Handicap Hurdle at Hawthorn Hill on March 19, 1907, set the ball rolling, beating Paddy Cowley’s mount Crepuscule by three-quarters of a length.
Three horses were collectively responsible for 11 of Fred’s 15 wins: Jessie and Romany Rue both scored three times, while Mystical won five, including two successes at Newbury and one at Sandown Park.
Fred’s last win came at Worcester on April 27, 1909, aboard Fiery, who beat Comique, the mount of Alf Newey, by a neck in the Pitchcroft Selling Hurdle.
He continued to hold a licence until 1912 and partnered Mystical in two big races, the 1909 Lancashire Chase and the 1910 Welsh Grand National at Cardiff. However, Mystical fell in both contests.
Fred held a National Hunt trainer’s licence briefly in the mid-1920s.
Frederick Close’s wins were, in chronological order:
1. Jessie, Hawthorn Hill, March 19, 1907
2. Mystical, Hambledon Hunt, May 2, 1907
3. Jessie, Devon& Exeter, August 29, 1907
4. Jessie, Plymouth, September 4, 1907
5. Mystical, Sandown Park, December 7, 1907
6. Mystical, Newbury, December 11, 1907
7. Romany Rye, Wye, December 19, 1907
8. Romany Rye, Manchester, January 21, 1908
9. Mystical, Newbury, February 29, 1908
10. St. Vincent, Wolverhampton, March 2, 1908
11. Romany Rye, Isle of Wight, April 24, 1908
12. Uncommon II, South Brent, June 10, 1908
13. Mystical, Birmingham, January 12, 1909
14. Murillo, Hooton Park, March 11, 1909
15. Fiery, Worcester, April 27, 1909
Frederick Close's first winner: Jessie, at Hawthorn Hill, March 19, 1907. Jessie made virtually all of the running.
Frederick's final winner was Fiery, Worcester, April 27, 1909, trained by Mr Crickett.
