Frederick Thomas Gurney was born at Upton on 6 August 1898 and was apprenticed to Captain Percy Whitaker. He served in the Royal Field Artillery in the First World War but continued to ride under National Hunt rules as a serving soldier.
At Cheltenham, Fred won the National Hunt Handicap Chase three times: Herbert's Choice in 1927, Quite Calm in 1932 and Tapinos in 1935. Other major victories included the 1921 Stanley Chase at Liverpool on Mask Man and the 1932 Gatwick National Trial on Black Fellow.
He finished third in the 1934/35 NH jockeys’ table with 46 winners and rode in several Grand Nationals, achieving his best placing when fifth on Darracq in 1926.
He held Flat and National Hunt trainers’ licences between 1935 and 1938, based at Peewit Farm, Wantage.
After World War II he lived for many years at The Kennels, Steventon, and worked for a time for Major John Goldsmith. He renewed his jockey’s licence to ride for him under National Hunt rules in the late 1940s.
Fred Gurney died at Wantage on 1 March 1983. He was 84.
Information sourced from ‘A Biographical Dictionary of Racehorse Trainers in Berkshire 1850-1939’ by David Boyd, published in 1998.