National Hunt jockey Robert ‘Snowy’ Clarke was born in Suffolk in 1865. He had his first mount in public at Burgh-by-Sands on Easter Monday, April 26, 1886, finishing a tailed off last of three on Scotch Reel in the three-mile Solway Open Steeplechase.
He rode his first winner on an unnamed chestnut gelding by Remorse out of Whitelock, owned by Mr R. M. McFarlane, in the Qualifying Steeplechase Plate at Manchester on February 19, 1887. He went on to ride seven winners that year.
He equalled that score with seven more in 1891. Also that year, he had his only ride in the Grand National, aboard 50-1 shot Flower of the Forest, who fell.
Snowy achieved by far his biggest success when winning the 1900 Scottish Grand National at Bogside – known as Eglinton Hunt at that time – on Mr H D Gibbs’ 10-year-old mare Dorothy Vane, carrying 11 stone and starting at 7-1, scoring by a length in a nine-runner field.
Soon afterwards, Robert turned his attentions to training, based at Ayr, but continued to ride for a few more years. He rode exactly 50 winners over jumps, the last of them on Penitence, whom he also trained, in the Milliken Selling Handicap Hurdle at Paisley on August 10, 1905.
He had his final mount at Hamilton Park – which staged National Hunt as well as Flat racing in those days – when finishing second on Marron Glace in the Clyde Selling Hurdle on September 24, 1906.
Robert ‘Snowy’ Clarke died in 1931.
