Frederick Lynham was born at Brent Knoll in Somerset on November 23, 1855, and rode successfully on the Flat and over jumps. He also trained under both rules in England and in France.
Having served his apprenticeship with Joseph Saxon, he rode to great effect as a lightweight jockey, recording his most important victory on Adonis in the 1870 Cambridgeshire for a German stable, earning him a handsome retainer, reputed to have been £200 a year.
He rode 33 winners the following season but quickly put on weight and turned to riding over jumps. He had his first win over hurdles in 1872. He began riding over fences in 1874 and achieved his most significant success on Morning Star in that year’s Birmingham Grand Annual Chase, held at Sutton Coldfield.
By then he had commenced training, based at Baydon Road, Lambourn, while continuing to ride mostly under National Hunt rules. He rode 11 NH winners in 1878, three in 1879 (plus two on the Flat) and ten in 1880.
A canny trainer under both rules, he kept his horses well away from the touts. By 1882, his string numbered 28 horses. That year he relocated to Saxon House, Upper Lambourn, but did not stay long, for in 1883 ‘this quiet and clever young trainer’ (according to Bell’s Life) crossed the English Channel to train privately at Chantilly for Baron Alphonse de Rothschild. He trained there for the next few years and had 31 horses in the Baron’s stable by 1892.
He prospered during his time in France and spent some of his riches to purchase The Moat House and its estate at Letcombe Regis, along with another large property, The Manor at Ogbourne. He returned to England in 1893 to farm and train at The Manor, letting The Moat House to ‘Boss’ Croker, who eventually bought the property from him around 1904.
Like several other trainers, he was a shareholder in John Porter’s fledgling Newbury Racecourse.
Fred’s stable was a notable gambling one and his owners included several bookmakers. He also owned many of the horses himself. A successful trainer of handicappers, he won the Chester Cup in 1899 with Uncle Mac and the Ayr Gold Cup the following year with Child Waters.
He continued to train at The Manor until selling the property to around 1905 to theatrical impresario George Edwardes and moving to Dale Cottage in Rottingdean, where he trained around a dozen horses, saddling nine winners in 1907. From 1914 until his retirement he trained privately for the Mr Kennedy Jones.
Fred retired from Dale Cottage in 1917 and moved to Brighton. Though in retirement, he remained a regular racegoer, a spritely figure looking far younger than his real age. He owned a few horses that carried his colours in the 1920s.
He died at his home in Chesham Street, Kemptown, Brighton, on April 18, 1931, aged 76. He left £9,625.
His son, Barrington, known as ‘Barry’ (1883-1953), was apprenticed to him and held a Flat jockey’s licence from 1902 to 1912. He was a more successful jockey than his father, winning the 1,000 Guineas twice: in 1907 on Witch Elm and in 1910 on Winkipop. He also won the 1905 Royal Hunt Cup on Andover.
Fred's two other sons – Percy Mulford (1880-1954) and Frederick Charles (1876-1918) – both trained in France. Frederick Charles was killed in action during the war.
Additional information sourced from ‘A Biographical Dictionary of Racehorse Trainers in Berkshire 1850-1939’ by David Boyd, published in 1998.