Paul Mathieu - Beckhampton: The Men and Horses of a Great Racing Stable

BECKHAMPTON

Copyright Paul Mathieu 2015

The right of Paul Mathieu to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published in 2015 by Racing Post Books

27 Kingfisher Court, Hambridge Road, Newbury, RG14 5SJ

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-1-910498-29-3
ePub 978-1-910498-77-4
Mobi 978-1-910498-76-7

Cover designed by Nathan Bines

Typeset by J Schwartz & Co

Printed and bound in the UK by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY

Every effort has been made to fulfil requirements with regard to copyright material. The author and publisher will be glad to rectify any omissions at the earliest opportunity.

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Contents

Authors notes

Monetary worth

At the time when Billy Treen began to train at Beckhampton, the pound sterling was worth, depending on which benchmark is used, anything between 88 and 3,635, compared to 1 today. The option used in this book is based on the measuringworth.com purchasing power calculator. It corresponds to the Retail Price Index. That option produces the 88 to 1 comparison between 1835 and 2014. The firm make the caveat that few of the contents of the RPIs shopping basket today even existed in 1835, or for that matter 1935. How would Treen have received the news that the 2015 RPI basket included for the first time e-cigarettes, streaming music subscriptions and protein powder? Almost the only things hed recognise are bacon, milk and bread. Here and there, for emphasis, todays values are noted alongside contemporary pounds and guineas.

Illustrations

Thanks to all those who have helped by providing photographs, drawings and maps. Theyre credited alongside the individual illustrations. While every effort has been made to trace the copyright holder of each image, it hasnt been possible in all cases. The publishers will be happy to rectify any omissions, including in future editions of the book.

Illustrations

THE HAZARDS of the downs. The coaching services needed shelter and regular stops for their horses and passengers. Inns on isolated stretches of road like Beckhampton were provided with a continuous flow of visitors.

THE CRAVEN. Fulwar Craven was a famous dandy, a racehorse owner and a hellraiser. He owned the filly Deception, trained by Billy Treen to win Beckhamptons first classic, the 1839 Oaks.

WILLIAM GREGORY acquired an expensive addiction to racing while an Oxford undergraduate. He was one of Billy Treens major patrons at Beckhampton, and later found Treen a job training in India.

SIR GEORGE CHETWYND was a spendthrift who topped up his income with shrewd and successful betting. His horses removal from Beckhampton was unrelated to their performances, but left Harry Woolcott struggling.

SMALL BEGINNINGS. The yard that Harry Woolcott sold to Sam Darling in 1882 comprised only the former Beckhampton Inn, its stabling and two small paddocks. Darling built an estate of over 1,200 acres.

SAM DARLING laid the foundations for the trainers who followed him at Beckhampton. He rebuilt and modernised the yard, bought land, nurtured the gallops and farmed on a large scale.

CROSSROADS. Beckhampton House circa 1900. Sam Darlings porch stands out. The foremans house on the right, alongside the Calne Road, has long since been demolished.

JACK GUBBINS provided Ireland with its first Derby winner, Galtee More in 1897, and soon after a second, Ard Patrick. However, he was remembered with muted enthusiasm in his home parish.

PARTNER. Harry Greer was Sam Darlings friend and business partner. The two men had a successful stud in Ireland, where the colt Slieve Gallion was bred: he was trained by Darling to win the 2000 Guineas in Greers colours.

DERBY DAY. Galtee More, ridden by Charles Wood and led by Sam Darling, is paraded on the course before the 1897 Derby. Jack Gubbins colt had already won the 2000 Guineas and went on to triple crown glory.

UNSUNG HERO: Sam Darling oversees the exercise of his and Jack Gubbins second Derby winner, Ard Patrick, described as the greatest unsung hero in British flat racing.

WILLONYX won the Chester Cup, the Ascot Stakes, the Ascot Gold Cup, the Jockey Club Cup and the Cesarewitch under a record weight in 1911. The colts grateful owner presented Sam Darling with the Gold Cup.

THE VALUE of Willonyxs wins to Sam Darling is hinted at in his acquisition of a large dwelling the other side of the Devizes road from his Beckhampton stable. He named it Willonyx House.

DYNASTY. Besides managing a large training yard and several farms, Sam Darling (at right) found time to sire eight children. His eldest son Sam became a successful trainer at Newmarket. His second son Fred (at left) inherited Beckhampton, where Douglas (centre) worked for a time.