Henry Custance

Henry, the son of a postman, was born in Peterborough on 27th Feb 1842. 

Henry won the Epsom Derby on 3 occasions, Thormanby 1860, Lord Lyon 1866 and the ill-tempered George Frederick 1874. He then became a starter and was the man who got the 1885 Derby underway.

Henry, a light-weight jockey, had to carry twenty-two pounds of lead in his saddle to make the required weight on Thormanby who, on the strength of recent gallops, had been heavily backed for the race. For fear of any potential assailants who might wish to ‘nobble’ the horse on its way down, its trainer Matt Dawson insisted that the jockey switched racing colours at the last moment to protect him.

His second Derby winner, the bay Lord Lyon, had four white feet and was, according to the jockey, ‘a bit of a whistler’. (This was treated by the application of hot rod to the back of the horse’s throat, a practice known as ‘firing’.) Lord Lyon had already been an odds-on winner of the 2,000 Guineas when ridden by R Thomas. Henry had been injured, taking a fall at Epsom, but he was back on board when Lord Lyon just held on in the St Leger to become only the third horse to win the Triple Crown.

Henry could have ridden a fourth Derby winner had he not cried off at the last minute – he had agreed to ride Hermit in the 1867 Derby, but the horse broke a blood vessel two days before the Derby and Henry swapped mounts. Hermit, now ridden by Johnny Daley, went on to win, landing some of the biggest bets ever seen on a racecourse.

Henry had come a long way from Ramsey  in Huntingdon where, as a boy of thirteen, he had ridden pony races. From there he had found employment at the Epsom stables of Ned Smith, and  had, in his own words, ‘a jolly though rather a rough time’.

His first winning mount was at Peterborough on Ada, owned by George Edwards who was later killed while riding in the Sefton Steeplechase at Liverpool.

Henry had first made his mark in the 1858 Cesarewitch aboard Rocket, winning the race again in 1861 on Audrey. In 1860 he rode over forty winners (including Thormanby in the Derby) and, in 1863, he became stable jockey at East Isley for James Dover. Then, after winning his third Derby, Henry began having problems with his weight. He struggled to make eight stone ten pounds and, in 1879, having ridden his last winner on Lollypop at the Newmarket Houghton meeting, was forced to retire.

Having spent ten years as a starter and twenty-four as a jockey, he became the proprietor of The George Inn at Oakham, and regularly hunted with the Quorn and Cottesmore packs. He was best man at the wedding of jockey George Fordham and godfather to his eldest son.

Henry, in his younger days, was a fine cricketer.

Remembered by his friends as cheerful and amusing, he died of a paralytic seizure at his home, 53 New Walk, Leicester on 19 April 1908, leaving a widow, Mary.

His funeral was at Oakham, April 23, 1908. 

He left effects of £8,081. 6s. 2d.

Henry Custance's classic wins:

One Thousand Guineas: Achievement (1867)

The Derby: Thormanby (1860), Lord Lyon (1866) and George Frederick (1874)

St Leger: Lord Lyon (1866)

Other big wins:

1858:  Cesarewitch - Rocket

1861:  Cesarewitch - Audrey

1861:  Ascot Gold Cup - Thormanby

1862:  Coronation Stakes - Polynesia

1864:  Prince of Wale's Stakes - Ely

1865:  Prince of Wale's Stakes - Breadalbane

1865:  Ascot Gold Cup - Ely

1865:  Jersey Stakes - Broomielaw

1865:  Goodwood Cup - Ely

1866:  Gimcrack Stakes - Blinkhoolie

1867:  St James's Palace Stakes - Hermit

1868:  Queen's Vase - Blinkhoolie

1872:  Ebor Handicap - Albert Victor

1874:  Jersey Stakes - Voltumo

1876:  Coronation Stakes - Footsteps

1877:  St James's Palace Stakes - Covenanter

1876:  Cork & Orrery Stakes - Lowlander