William Charles Gergor was born at Grampound, Cornwall, circa 1863. More commonly known by his second christian name, he was the dominant force on the south-west racing circuit during the latter years of the 19th century.
Charles had his first ride in public at Torquay’s annual Easter meeting on April 15, 1880. However, it was not until the corresponding fixture 12 months later, April 20, 1881, that he achieved his first success, on Mr A. H. Clarke’s Quicksilver, who romped home by20 lengths in the Commercial Travellers’ Selling Chase.
That victory brought swift recompense for the horse, the owner, trainer and rider, because earlier that same afternoon Charles had ridden Quicksilver to victory in the Licensed Victuallers’ Chase for maiden hunters. That would have been his first winner but the horse was disqualified because the owner was not a farmer or a tradesman, as required on the conditions of entry.
Charles was the undisputed king of the Devon tracks from the mid-1880s to the mid-1890s. He was simply unstoppable during the summer of 1889, judging by the results of five consecutive meetings at which he rode.
At South Brent on June 4, he rode four winners and a second from five rides. Then on June 10 he rode all five winners on Buckfastleigh’s annual Whitsun bank holiday card. Three of those winners, Merry Boy, Papua and Tenby, were owned by Mr A. M. Singer, the latter being burdened with 12st 13lb yet winning in a canter. His other two were on Factor and All Fours for the Hamlyn stable at Fullaford House.
At Newton Abbot on the first two days of the new season, 5th and 6th August, he rode seven winners and two thirds from nine rides, although two of those wins were on horses who finished second but were subsequently promoted to first when the winners were disqualified on technical grounds.
At Plymouth’s annual two-day fixture on 4th and 5th September, he had six wins and two thirds from eight rides; then at the two-day Totnes & Bridgetown meeting on 12th and 13th September, he managed six wins and two seconds from eight rides.
Nor were these isolated occurrences. On another occasion he rode five winners in a day at Torquay, although three of those races were matches; he also notched a four-timer at Torquay.
Riding three winners in a day was commonplace – he recorded 20 trebles during the course of his career. One of them was at Buckfastleigh in 1891, when he won the opening race, the Dart Vale Hunt Plate on Captain J. H. Bainbridge’s half-bred hunter Post Captain, then scored a double for owner Mr H. C. Collier with Rose Of Devon in the Dartmoor Hunt Plate and Miss Amy in the Buckfastleigh Maiden Hunter Chase.
His most successful year was 1889, during which he rode 35 winners and finished third in the National Hunt jockey’s table. He also finished third in 1890 with a score of 32 wins. His victories were pretty much all gained in minor contests. His sole big race success came in 1891 when he won the Hoylake Hunt Chase at Aintree on The Brigand.
He had one ride in the Grand National, aboard the well fancied 100-7 chance Tenby in 1892, but their race ended in a fall.
He rode what was to be his final winner on Blue Glass in the Selling Handicap Chase at Newton Abbot on August 6, 1906. He was then not seen in the saddle between September 1906 and May 1914 when he made a brief, unsuccessful comeback at the advanced age of 51, finishing unplaced on his final ride, Lubricator, on June 1, 1914 at Buckfastleigh, the course where he had gone through the card 25 years earlier.
Charles Gregor rode a total of 193 winners during his career, 48 of which were gained at Torquay, which, as it only raced on two days a year, gives some indication of his dominance at that course. He rode 32 winners at the annual two-day Totnes meetings, and 25 at Newton Abbot,
He died at The Manor House, South Brent, on March 15, 1923, aged 60.