Frank Hardy
1884 - 1913
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The son of a plumber, Frank William Hardy was born at Northampton on December 26, 1884, and became apprenticed to Thomas Jennings Jr. at Phantom House, Newmarket.
The son of a plumber, Frank William Hardy was born at Northampton on December 26, 1884, and became apprenticed to Thomas Jennings Jr. at Phantom House, Newmarket.
On Tuesday, March 18, 1902, he climbed aboard Sceptre, the three-year-old filly who went off as the 11-4 favourite on her seasonal debut. She had inherited that status from St Maclou, who had been eased in his work before the race after a bout of coughing. In the end, the two dominated the finish, with St Maclou prevailing by a head. Though the seventeen-year-old Frank had done nothing wrong, he was jocked off and replaced by Herbert Randall, who proceeded to win the 2,000 Guineas, One Thousand Guineas and the Oaks on the incredible filly. Randall subsequently lost the ride after falling out with the stable, and Frank was re-engaged. He made no mistake this time, winning the St Leger easily before going on to become joint champion apprentice with 74 winners.
One scribe's view of the Lincoln finish.
Coming second in the 1902 Lincoln Handicap cost Frank Hardy three Classic wins.
Frank and Sceptre win the 1902 St Leger. In doing so, Sceptre became the only horse to win four Classics
St Leger Day - Wednesday September 10 1902 - was one of the wettest on record.
The 1902 St Leger Stakes was the 127th running of Britain's oldest Classic horse race.
The winner, Sceptre, was a bay filly (born 1899) sired by Persimmon out of Ornament. She was owned, bred, and trained by the colourful and controversial figure Robert Standish "Bob" Sievier (a journalist, gambler, and racehorse owner who notably both owned and trained her himself—an unusual arrangement even then).
Sceptre started as the 10/3 favourite and won impressively by 3 lengths in a time of 3:12.4 (or 3:12.40 in some records).
The prize money to the winner was £5,275 (a substantial sum, equivalent to hundreds of thousands in today's money adjusted for inflation).
Frank's first winner: Papdale July 18 1901
Northampton was Frank's home track, where he was always guaranteed a warm reception.
In 1903, notice was given that the track would close the following year due to its poor safety record. One of the problems was that the racing course was marked by wooden posts, not all of which were connected by rails. This meant that horses could veer inside the posts to cut corners — earning disqualification if they did — but more significantly, it encouraged spectators to stand on the racing side of the posts to get a better view, which risked distracting the horses. Crowd discipline was very poor.
During the Kelmarsh Selling Plate, Traitress collided with a post on the first bend by Bailey Street, throwing horse and jockey into the crowd. Several spectators had to be carried off on stretchers, while Frank was carried into the Bat and Wickets pub for emergency treatment. He had broken his right thigh.
Frank did eventually recover, and he was back in the saddle at Newmarket by July.
October 1913
His career was dogged by ill-health and, in 1913, having ridden in France, aged 28, he returned to England where, in Hornsey, Middlesex, on September 29, 1913, he died of consumption.
His career was dogged by ill-health and, in 1913, having ridden in France, aged 28, he returned to England where, in Hornsey, Middlesex, on September 29, 1913, he died of consumption.
He was buried at Newmarket on October 4, 1913.
He was buried at Newmarket on October 4, 1913.
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