Howard Jenkins

Howard Jenkins

Article by Alan Trout

Howard Lyndon Jenkins rode over jumps for more than a decade and had a dozen wins.

His first ride, Tudor Friendship, was beaten a long way in the Dyke Selling Handicap Hurdle at Plumpton on October 16, 1979. It would be more than four years before his first success but it finally came at Windsor on November 21, 1983, when the five-year-old End Of Era, trained by John Jenkins, made virtually all the running and beat Chase The Lady by four lengths in the Russell Conditional Jockeys’ Selling Handicap Hurdle. 

Howard added two more wins before the end of the campaign, then had at least one winner in each of the next five seasons, although one was on a disqualification, with a prohibited substance being found in the urine of the original winner. 

He went more than three years without visiting the winner’s enclosure before My Alibi gave him his final victory when taking the lead after the last flight and running on strongly to land the Holtye Novices’ Hurdle at Lingfield Park on January 31, 1992.

Howard Jenkins’ winners were, in chronological order:

1. End Of Era, Windsor, November 21, 1983

2. Laura’s Pride, Plumpton, January 30, 1984

3. Laura’s Pride, Plumpton, February 13, 1984

4. Aboushabun, Leicester, November 19, 1984

5. Aboushabun, Southwell, November 26, 1984

6. Indian Dare, Newbury, December 31, 1984

7. Old Ford Tavern, Market Rasen, October 18, 1985

8. Belfalas Lad, Newbury, November 6, 1985

9. Abu Street, Southwell, October 6, 1986

10. Spacial, Windsor, November 14, 1987

11. Snowball David, Plumpton, August 29, 1988

12. My Alibi, Lingfield Park, January 31, 1992

It is presumed that Howard Jenkins was related to trainer John Jenkins, although their precise relationship is unknown. The latter’s entry in the Directory of the Turf states that he had two daughters, hence it is not possible to verify the family connection beyond doubt.