Michael Jarvis

Michael Jarvis

1938-2011

Long before becoming a successful trainer on the Flat from the 1970s onwards, Michael Jarvis rode three winners over hurdles in the mid-1950s. 

Born on August 14, 1938, Michael Andrew Jarvis was the son of National Hunt jockey Andrew Jarvis. He had his first victory at Wye on October 29, 1956, when Megalithic, trained by Jack Holt, won the Torrington Handicap Hurdle. Michael had ridden the six-year-old on his previous two starts and been placed both times. His deserved success came when beating Charlie Guest’s mount Rokimos by a length and a half. They followed up in their next race at Fontwell Park on November 7, landing the Rank Challenge Cup Handicap Hurdle by three lengths from Flaming Court, ridden by Michael Scudamore. 

Michael’s third and final winner as a jockey was at Devon & Exeter on August 22, 1957, when the mare Record Strike, trained by Captain Ryan Price, won the Chudleigh Novices’ Hurdle (Division II) by three-quarters of a length, and then survived an objection from the trainer of the third-placed horse, who objected to the winner and second on grounds of ‘boring’. Record Strike was later sold, and Michael only had a few more rides that season before relinquishing his licence. 

During a 40-year training career he won numerous Group 1 races, not just in Britain but also in Ireland, France, Germany and Italy. He trained two English Classic winners: Ameerat (2001 1,000 Guineas) and Eswarah (2005 Oaks) but enjoyed his greatest triumph with Carroll House in the 1989 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. 

He announced his decision to retire on February 22, 2011, with almost immediate effect due to health issues, handing over the yard to his long-time assistant Roger Varian. He had undergone surgery for a heart condition and was also suffering from prostate cancer. He died on September 20, 2011, aged 73.

His most notable training successes included:

In Great Britain

1969: Haydock Sprint Cup – Tudor Music 

1971: Haydock Sprint Cup – Green God

1981: International Stakes – Beldale Flutter 

1982: Coronation Cup – Easter Sun

1984: Haydock Sprint Cup – Petong 

1999: Lancashire Oaks – Noushkey

2000: Lancashire Oaks – Ela Athena 

2001: 1,000 Guineas – Ameerat

2003: Champion Stakes – Rakti 

2004: Prince of Wales’s Stakes – Rakti 

2004: Queen Elizabeth II Stakes – Rakti

2004: Chester Cup – Anak Pekan 

2005: Chester Cup – Anak Pekan 

2005: Lockinge Stakes – Rakti 

2005: Oaks – Eswarah 

In Ireland

1989: Irish Champion Stakes – Carrol House

2002: Pretty Polly Stakes – Tarfshi 

In France

1989: Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe – Carroll House

2000: Prix du Jockey Club – Holding Court 

In Germany

1988: Grosser Preis von Baden – Carroll House

2001: Grosser Preis von Baden – Morshdi 

2009: Bayerisches Zuchtrennen – Pressing 

In Italy

1985: Premio Presidente della Repubblica – Bob Back  

1988: Gran Premio d’Italia – Welsh Guide

1988: Premio Roma – Welsh Guide

1989: Derby Italiano – Prorutori 

1998: Premio Presidente della Repubblica – Polar Prince 

2001: Derby Italiano – Morshdi 

2003: Premio Presidente della Repubblica – Rakti 

2007: Premio Roma – Pressing