Nelson Guest

Walter Nelson Guest, born in Hampshire on 2 July 1932, was the youngest of three jockey brothers, the other two being Joe and Charlie.

Always known by his second name, Nelson, he was apprenticed to Colonel Laye at Ogbourne, near Marlborough and rode his first winner on Bidbro, trained by Colonel Laye, in the Apprentices’ Handicap at Bath on 11 August 1949. Ray Reader finished second on Zizanie, beaten half a length, with 13-year-old Lester Piggott on Straight Jane a further length and a half back in third. 

He rode four winners in 1949 and five in 1950. 

Because of a lack of rides after finishing his apprenticeship, he joined Fulke Walwyn as a jumps jockey, holding a licence from 1955/56 to 1958/59 before reverting to the Flat. 

He then worked for Sir Gordon Richards for ten years and rode 42 winners on the Flat between 1959 and 1967, achieving a best score of ten from 113 mounts in 1964.

Probably his most famous victory – though not the most prestigious – was when riding the well-backed Curlicue to force a dead-heat with Paul Cook on Red Rum in the Thursby Two-Year-Old Selling Plate at Liverpool on 7 April 1967. Red Rum was making his racecourse debut. Nobody at Aintree that day could have guessed what a household name he would become over the course of the next ten years. 

Nelson was not around to witness Red Rum’s progression from lowly juvenile to Grand National legend. He left at the end of 1967 to ply his trade in Denmark.

He enjoyed successful careers as both jockey and trainer in Denmark and other Scandinavian racing countries. Later, he returned to England and trained at Newmarket.

His son, Edward (born 11 August 1963) was also a successful Flat jockey. 

Two other sons, Gordon and Derek, also had a few rides in public.