Tom Tyler

Tom Tyler

Article by Alan Trout

Born in 1891, Tom Archer Tyler was the son of Loughborough trainer Thomas Tyler, the owner-trainer of 1914 Grand National winner Sunloch. He made a good start to his riding career, winning on each of his first three rides. However, he was only able to add three more, his final ride being just 19 months after his first. 

His first success was at Shirley Park on September 9, 1912, when the opening race, the Knowle Hurdle, was easily won by Beaumanor, trained by his father, leading all the way to beat Stoke Boy by 12 lengths. The fifth race on that Shirley Park card saw Tom and Beaumanor reunited for the Tally-Ho Chase, which they won by a distance.

The hat-trick was achieved at Wolverhampton on October 1, when they won the Dudley Handicap Chase by five lengths, beating 15 rivals. The following day at the same course they were unplaced in the Minor Handicap Hurdle. 

Those appear to be the only four rides Tom had that year. He only had a small number in 1913 but managed to win on two of them, both on Sunloch.

Bred by Mr H. S. Blair, Sunloch won prizes for him at horse shows around Leicestershire before going on to achieve modest success over fences. Trainer Thomas Tyler was so impressed with the young gelding that he gave £300 for him on behalf of a client, only to find that the promised cheque from the prospective owner was not forthcoming. But such was Tyler’s confidence in Sunloch that he refused a substantial profit on his outlay from Sir Chales Assheton-Smith and kept the horse himself. 

Young Tom rode Sunloch to win the Quorn Hunt Chase at Leicester on November 24, then followed up in the Elvaston Chase at Nottingham on December 8. 

He rode the last of his six victories at Wolverhampton on March 16, 1914, when Anxious beat two rivals to claim the Dudley Maiden Selling Hurdle. Eleven days later, 100/6 chance Sunloch, carrying just 9st 7lb, won the Grand National in the hands of William Smith for owner-trainer Thomas Tyler. 

Tom had what proved to be his final ride the following  month when King Jack was a faller in the Innkeepers’ Selling Chase at the annual Quorn Hunt NH meeting at Loughborough on April 20. It is not known whether the fall was directly responsible for ending his brief riding career prematurely, but at least he had been able to celebrate the Grand National success of Sunloch, owned and trained by his father and responsible for two of his six wins as a jockey.

Tom Tyler’s winners were, in chronological order:

1. Beaumanor, Shirley Park, September 9, 1912

2. Beaumanor, Shirley Park, September 9, 1912

3. Beaumanor, Wolverhampton, October 1, 1912

4. Sunloch, Leicester, November 24, 1913

5. Sunloch, Nottingham, December 8, 1913

6. Anxious, Wolverhampton, March 16, 1914