Henry Ashworth
Henry Ashworth
1889 - 1959
Article by Alan Trout
Dual-purpose jockey Harry Ashworth, or Henry, as he was known in his younger days, rode in Britain for two seasons without making much of an impact. He returned over a decade later, during the latter years of the First World War, and briefly did well both on the Flat and over jumps.
Henry was apprenticed initially to Felix Walmough Leach, who trained successfully at Newmarket for many years, and had his first ride in public at Birmingham on Easter Monday, April 24, 1905, when finishing unplaced on Flattery in the Decker Hill Maiden Plate. He had to wait until the meeting at Folkestone on August 23 for his first winner, when Carrelet, trained by Leach, won the Regulation Plate by two lengths. A second success followed, again at Folkestone, when he rode an unnamed three-year-old filly by Mimic out of Applemint (later named Apple) to beat Dame Amicia, the mount of ‘Skeets’ Martin, by a head in the Deal Selling Plate on June 28, 1906.
After that season, he did not return to the English racing scene until 1917, but it was as a National Hunt jockey that he initially revisited the winner’s enclosure. He had his first ride over obstacles when unplaced on Mint Master in the Denman Selling Handicap Hurdle at Windsor on January 13. However, on that same course on March 16, he won the Mill End Selling Hurdle by four lengths on the five-year-old King Year, beating top amateur rider Frank Atherton Brown on Glatz.
He had to wait almost two years for another victory, but then three came within six days. The first of those was at Hurst Park on March 14, 1919, winning the Surrey Four-Year-Old Handicap Hurdle by six lengths on Longerline. He even managed to survive an objection by the experienced Spink Walkington on the grounds of ‘bumping after the last flight of hurdles’ when winning the Ashford Selling Handicap Hurdle at Sandown Park on March 20, aboard Horatio Bottomley’s Royal Signet by half a length. James Hare trained all three winners.
Hare was also responsible for the five victories that Henry had on the Flat that year. They included a Derby Day success at Epsom when Hard-Bake, owned like the jumpers by Sir Horatio Bottomley, won the Juvenile Selling Plate by eight lengths. There was also a double at Brighton later that month but those were Henry’s last victories on the Flat.
He did, though, register one more win over jumps, albeit eight years later, when Saint Maxent won the Chiswick Selling Hurdle at Hurst Park on March 27, 1927. scoring by a short head from Wood Owl, ridden by George Maynard.
Henry continued to ride under both codes but failed to add to his score. His final ride over jumps was Le Mont d’Here, a faller in the Punch Bowl Selling Hurdle at Plumpton on December 3, 1928.
Henry Ashworth’s winners were, in chronological order:
1. Carrelet, Folkestone, August 23, 1905 Flat
2. Unnamed 3yo filly, Folkestone, June 28, 1906 Flat
3. King Year, Windsor, March 16, 1917 NH
4. Longerline, Hurst Park, March 14, 1919 NH
5. Macmerry, Lingfield Park, March 19, 1919 NH
6. Royal Signet, Sandown Park, March 20, 1919 NH
7. Minstrel Park, Lewes, May 12, 1919 Flat
8. Hard-Bake, Epsom, June 4, 1919 Flat
9. Hard-Bake, Windsor, June 21, 1919 Flat
10. Longerline, Brighton, June 23, 1919 Flat
11. Minstrel Park, Brighton, June 23, 1919 Flat
12. Saint Maxent, Hurst Park, March 17, 1927 NH
