George Brown (Ireland)

George Brown

1885-1968

Born in Cirencester in 1885, George Brown was Ireland’s champion jump jockey for four successive years from 1907 to 1910 and rode approximately 215 winners in Ireland during his career. He had his first win on the three-year-old Fairy Spark in the Stand Hurdle at Leopardstown on December 26, 1902.

He rode in seven Irish Grand Nationals between 1907 and 1915, finishing second on Shady Girl in 1907. The following year he partnered the evens favourite Moorside II, the unbeaten winner of two chases, only to fall at the fourth fence from home when going well. 

He made occasional forays to ride in England in the years before the First World War, winning 15 races altogether, with a best score of seven in 1914. He also had two rides in the Grand National. 

He opened his account at Manchester on February 16, 1903, when steering Ipswich to a three-length victory in the Kersal Hurdle. He rode seven winners altogether over the next three seasons, but thereafter was rarely seen on British racecourses before 1914. 

An exception was the 1910 Grand National, in which he partnered 100-1 outsider Captain Farrell, who had won the Stand Chase at Leopardstown on his previous start, when ridden by Algy Anthony. Only five of the 25-strong field completed the course, and Captain Farrel was not among them. 

George made a good start to the 1914 campaign with three winners in two days at Leicester’s February meeting. He also had a ride in that year’s Grand National on Another Delight. The horse’s previous run had been to carry his owner, Captain Wyndham, at 13 stone, to a remote ninth-place finish in the Grand Military Gold Cup at Sandown Park. Another Delight was a 33-1 chance at Liverpool and was prominent early but fell later. 

His last win in England was back at Manchester when riding King’s Cure to win the Irium Selling Chase on Easter Monday, on April 13, 1914. His final ride in England was twelve days later when he partnered War Duke to finish third in the Grand International Handicap Chase at Sandown. 

He rode very little during the war years and only won half a dozen races between 1919 and 1923. He may have combined riding with training during that period. He took part in two more Irish Grand Nationals, the last of them when unplaced on Minimus in 1926. 

George Brown died in 1968. His British winners were, in chronological order:

1. Ipswich, Manchester, February 16, 1903

2. Coolock, Manchester, February 17, 1903

3. Glenart, Haydock Park, March 20, 1903

4. Ipswich, Lingfield Park, March 21, 1903

5. Ipswich, Manchester, January 20, 1904

6. Glenart, Manchester, January 20, 1904

7. Cool Assurance, Manchester, February 15, 1905

8. Wise Fox, Leicester, February 22, 1910

9. Marcellinus, Hurst Park, January 17, 1914

10. Little Rover, Leicester, February 2 , 1914

11, Sauterne, Leicester, February 3, 1914

12. Marcellinus, Leicester, February 3, 1914

13. King’s Cure, Newbury, March 18, 1914

14. Accipator, Hawthorn Hill, March 24, 1914

15. King’s Cure, Manchester, April 13, 1914