Charles Hathaway
Charles Hathaway
Charles Hathaway
Article by Alan Trout
Article by Alan Trout
Charles Hathaway only rode one winner over jumps, and it was in a match, but it was also in the inaugural year of the National Hunt meeting at Cheltenham.
Charles Hathaway only rode one winner over jumps, and it was in a match, but it was also in the inaugural year of the National Hunt meeting at Cheltenham.
The last race on the second day of the meeting, March 9, 1911, was the Gloucestershire Maiden Hurdle, and Charles, on Ugbrooke, faced La La, ridden by Thomas Knight. Both horses were making their seasonal debut. La La had run nine times the previous season without winning. Ugbrooke was running over hurdles for the first time but had won a six-furlong Flat race at Wolverhampton the previous August.
The last race on the second day of the meeting, March 9, 1911, was the Gloucestershire Maiden Hurdle, and Charles, on Ugbrooke, faced La La, ridden by Thomas Knight. Both horses were making their seasonal debut. La La had run nine times the previous season without winning. Ugbrooke was running over hurdles for the first time but had won a six-furlong Flat race at Wolverhampton the previous August.
Ugbrooke, owned and trained by Tom Cannon, was sent off the 11-10 on favourite and, having led all the way, went on to finish alone as La La ran out, although he eventually completed the course to claim second prize. Charles only rode the four-year-old once more, when finishing last of six at Hurst Park seven days later. He had his final ride on Marsh Common, which was unplaced in the Exton Selling Hurdle at the Hambledon Hunt meeting on May 4, 1911.
Ugbrooke, owned and trained by Tom Cannon, was sent off the 11-10 on favourite and, having led all the way, went on to finish alone as La La ran out, although he eventually completed the course to claim second prize. Charles only rode the four-year-old once more, when finishing last of six at Hurst Park seven days later. He had his final ride on Marsh Common, which was unplaced in the Exton Selling Hurdle at the Hambledon Hunt meeting on May 4, 1911.
What makes the race at Cheltenham’s National Hunt meeting a little strange is that it appears to have been Charles Hathaway’s first ride in public, while Thomas Knight had not ridden in a race in England since 1907. Both men continued to ride after Cheltenham, although Hathaway’s career finished just two months after it had begun. At least he could claim to have ridden a winner on jump racing’s biggest stage. Thomas Knight had a slightly longer career, having his last ride in December 1914.
What makes the race at Cheltenham’s National Hunt meeting a little strange is that it appears to have been Charles Hathaway’s first ride in public, while Thomas Knight had not ridden in a race in England since 1907. Both men continued to ride after Cheltenham, although Hathaway’s career finished just two months after it had begun. At least he could claim to have ridden a winner on jump racing’s biggest stage. Thomas Knight had a slightly longer career, having his last ride in December 1914.
