William Arthur
1826 - 1885
William Charles Arthur was born in Staffordshire in 1826, the son of jockey Henry Arthur (1789-1844) and brother of jockey Henry Bailey Arthur (1819-1840).
Aged 14, he was apprenticed to Thomas Walters at Hednesford in 1841, and rode his first winner, Viola, at Hereford on August 24, 1842.
William enjoyed his biggest wins on Intrepid in the 1845 Chester Cup and The Libel in the 1845 Visitors' Plate (now the Queen Anne Stakes).
He began training but, in 1851, was committed to an asylum in Lichfield.
Having recovered, he later became a publican.
William Arthur died at Walsall on March 11, 1885, aged 58. He left £519.
Run on May 14 1845 in a 'pelting shower of hail and rain', the race was won by the heavily-backed Intrepid on which it's owner, Mr Skerratt, an attorney living in Sandbach, Cheshire, won over £10,000. Mr Gully, the owner of St Lawrence, the second, lodged an objection on account of a wrong pedigree being entered for Intrepid which had been foaled on 2nd of May 1841. This was quickly withdrawn when Mr Gully discovered that Mr Skerratt not only bred the horse but also owned both the sire and the dam.
