Charles William Reginald Spares (1917 – 29 October 1958), also commonly known as Chuck Spares, was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

. Although predominantly a

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

jockey, his biggest victory came on the

flat Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), ...

, when he won the 1951

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...

Arctic Prince Arctic Prince (1948–1969) was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire who was trained in England during a brief racing career which lasted from 1950 to 1951 and consisted of only five races. Arctic Prince won two races including th ...

Career

Charlie Spares was born in 1917 in

Upton-upon-Severn Upton-upon-Severn (or Upton on Severn, etc. and locally simply Upton) is a town and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. Lying on the A4104 (formerly A440), the 2011 census recorded a population of 2,881 for the ...

, and became apprentice jockey to trainer Len Cundell at Chilton, Berkshire, riding his first victory on Penny-a-Liner at

Birmingham Racecourse Bromford Bridge Racecourse was a racecourse in the Bromford area of Birmingham, England. Its official name was 'Birmingham'. It staged flat and national hunt racing. History The earliest recorded horse-race in Birmingham according to Chris Pi ...

on 31 October 1932. In 1936, he switched codes to ride over hurdles. He gained a big victory on the flat in the 1944

November Handicap The November Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 197 yards (2,393 metres) ...

on Kerry Piper and also won the final race run in wartime Britain - on a horse called Wisecrack in a maiden race at Stockton on 1 September 1945, the evening before the

Japanese surrender The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...

. After the war, he rode initially for Ernie Davey's stable in

Malton, Yorkshire Malton is a market town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshi ...

, and then for

Willie Stephenson Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scre ...

Royston, Hertfordshire Royston is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Hertfordshire, District of North Hertfordshire and county of Hertfordshire in England. It is situated on the Prime meridian (Greenwich), Greenwich Meridian, which brush ...

, for whom he rode under both codes. For Stephenson, he won the biggest race of career when he rode

in the

, winning at

odds Odds provide a measure of the likelihood of a particular outcome. They are calculated as the ratio of the number of events that produce that outcome to the number that do not. Odds are commonly used in gambling and statistics. Odds also have ...

of 28/1 in a field of thirty-three. In the race, the favourite, Ki Ming, disputed the lead with Mystery IX as the field approached

Tattenham Corner Tattenham Corner is in north Surrey, UK, the name is principally associated with Epsom Racecourse. The railway station of the same name is in the Tattenhams ward of Reigate and Banstead Borough. Location Tattenham Corner refers to the sharp ...

, at which point Arctic Prince was still moving through the field. Arctic Prince overtook Mystery IX to take the lead early in the straight and pulled clear to win by six lengths from Sybil's Nephew for what was reported to be "one of the easiest triumphs in the recent history of the race." Spares explained that "I took the lead and then it was all over." With a total prize of £22,625, it was the most valuable race ever run in England at the time. The following year was numerically Spares' most successful, winning 21 winners from 193 rides, and in 1953 he won the

Sussex Stakes The Sussex Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and ...

on King Of The Tudors. However, his association with Stephenson ended the same year, his health began to fail and he quit riding. A comeback in the spring of 1958, with the support of trainer Harry Blackshaw in

Middleham Middleham is an English market town and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire. It lies in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, on the south side of the valley, upstream from the junction of the River Ure and River Cover. ...

, was unsuccessful, and he died there, aged 41, on 28 October 1958. He left a widow and three sons, one of whom, also known as Chuck, was a racehorse trainer, best known for training

Ascot Hurdle The Ascot Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of about 2 miles and 3½ furlongs (2 mi ...

winner Ibn Majed.

Major wins

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

- ''

(1951)'' *

Sussex Stakes The Sussex Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and ...

- ''King Of The Tudors (1953)''

References

External links

1951 Derby from Pathe News

Bibliography

* * * * 1917 births 1958 deaths British jockeys {{UK-horseracing-bio-stub

Career

Major wins

See also

References

External links

Bibliography