Steven Stanhope

Steven Stanhope

Article by Alan Trout

The Hon. Steven Francis Lincoln Stanhope was one of the leading amateur riders during the first half of the 1970s. He owned many of the 36 winners he rode over jumps. 

Born on December 12, 1951, he was the son of William Henry Leicester Stanhope, the 11th Earl of Harrington, and his second wife Anne. Steven’s elder brother, Charles, by his father’s first marriage, eventually inherited the family title as the 12th Earl of Harrington.

Steven had his first ride at Worcester on April 17, 1971, when Furry Loot finished a close up third in the Diglis Handicap Hurdle (Division 2). It was on one of his own horses, Struell Park, that he had his first success when the 10-year-old, having been prominent throughout, took the lead on the run-in and won the Hatton Amateur Riders’ Handicap Chase at Warwick on August 30, 1971. Struell Park was trained by Fred Winter, as was his second winner, his first against professional jockeys, when Rio Tinto landed the Storrington Chase at Fontwell Park on February 29, 1972.

Steven had two more wins on Rio Tinto, along with four victories on Khan and five on Cool Affair. In the autumn of 1974 he won three races at three consecutive Cheltenham meetings on Red Rohan. He came closest to winning a race at Cheltenham’s National Hunt meeting in the 1972 National Hunt Chase on March 14, leading over the last fence on Khiva Lad, only to be run out of it on the flat by Derrick Scott on Charley Winking. 

Steven’s last win was at Fakenham on October 10, 1975, when Just The Job, trained by David Gandolfo, easily landed the Sandringham Amateur Riders’ Handicap Chase. It was on one of his own horses that he had his final ride, when Khan was among the tail-enders in the Mildmay of Flete Challenge Cup Handicap Chase at Cheltenham on March 17, 1976. 

Thereafter, he continued to be a successful owner and breeder, based at the Dooneen Stud in Patrickswell, County Limerick. 

Steven Stanhope’s winners were, in chronological order:

1. Struell Park, Warwick, August 30, 1971

2. Rio Tinto, Fontwell Park, February 29, 1972

3. Mouche, Wolverhampton, May 18, 1972

4. Arctic Floe, Cheltenham, October 12, 1972

5. Rio Tinto, Kempton Park, January 5, 1973

6. Sounder, Newton Abbot, January 19, 1973

7. Khan, Chepstow, January 30, 1973

8. Khan, Huntingdon, March 6, 1973

9. Rio Tinto, Kempton Park, March 10, 1973

10. Buck Sidwell, Stratford-on-Avon, April 5, 1973

11. Noon, Folkestone, April 30, 1973

12. Cool Affair, Fontwell Park, September 6, 1973

13. Cool Affair, Wincanton, September 20, 1973

14. High Havens, Fakenham, October 12, 1973

15. The Edwardian, Taunton, October 18, 1973

16. Cool Affair, Wincanton, November 3, 1973

17. Khan, Ascot, November 17, 1973

18, Cool Affair, Wincanton, November 29, 1973

19. Cool Affair, Cheltenham, December 7, 1973

20. Mr Owen, Wye, January 14, 1974

21. Dreamalong, Wincanton, March 7, 1974

22. Dreamalong, Taunton, March 21, 1974

23. Industrious Jack, Uttoxeter, April 6, 1974

24. Sea God, Newton Abbot, May 8, 1974

25. Do So, Fakenham, September 14, 1974

26. Red Rohan, Cheltenham, September 25, 1974

27. Red Rohan, Cheltenham, October 10, 1974

28. Red Rohan, Cheltenham, October 21, 1974

29. Arne Folly, Fontwell Park, November 11, 1974

30. Pottersville, Kelso, November 13, 1974

31. Khan, Ludlow, November 26, 1974

32. Steel Hook, Ascot, February 12, 1975

33. Star Beauty, Chepstow, April 1, 1975

34. No Competition, Newton Abbot, May 7, 1975

35. Serogan, Wincanton, September 18, 1975

36. Just The Job, Fakenham, October 10, 1975