Elijah Wheatley
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Elijah "Whippet" Wheatley (c. 1885–1951), nicknamed because of his small stature, 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, ...
flat racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
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 ...
who won the 1905 Jockeys' Championship.


Career


Apprentice

Wheatley was born in
Ilkeston Ilkeston is a town in the Borough of Erewash, Derbyshire, England, on the River Erewash, from which the borough takes its name, with a population at the 2011 census of 38,640. Its major industries, coal mining, iron working and lace making/texti ...
,
Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
around 1885. From there, he moved to become
apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
at the yard of William Elsey of Baumber,
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
. His career progressed rapidly and in 1905, while still an apprentice, he won 125 races to earn the title of
British flat racing Champion Jockey The Champion Jockey of flat racing in Great Britain is the jockey who has ridden the most winning horses during a season. The list below shows the Champion Jockey and the number of winners for each year since 1840. The seasonal record of jockeys' ...
, setting a new record for wins in a year by an apprentice in the process. He was the last Northern-based jockey to win the title until
Kevin Darley Kevin Darley (born 5 August 1960, in Penn, Wolverhampton) is a retired jockey, and a co-president of the Jockeys' Association of Great Britain. He was British flat racing Champion Apprentice in 1978 with 70 wins and Champion Jockey in 2000 wi ...
won in 2000 and the first apprentice ever to win it.


Professional

On completing his apprenticeship, Elijah went to work at Dobson Peacock's stable in
Middleham, Yorkshire 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. ...
where success seemed harder to come by. His seasonal win total began to tail off. In 1908, he only had 25 winners, in 1911 only 17. He did have some success though. In 1913, the last full season before the outbreak of World War I, he won his solitary
Classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...
on Night Hawk in the
St Leger The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a d ...
and had other big race wins including the
Portland Handicap The Portland 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 5 furlongs and 143 yards (1,137 metres), and ...
at
Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
on Hornet's Beauty and in the same year, his win total was back up to 79. During this time he also moved into the heart of British horseracing in Newmarket. An interesting tale about Wheatley is recounted by his fellow jockey,
Steve Donoghue Steve Donoghue (8 November 188423 March 1945) was a leading England, English flat-race jockey in the 1910s and 1920s. He was British flat racing Champion Jockey, Champion Jockey 10 times between 1914 and 1923 and was one of the most celebrated ...
. In the 1917
Champion Stakes The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlong ...
Donoghue rode
Gay Crusader Gay Crusader (1914–1932) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire who won a wartime version of the English Triple Crown in 1917. In a career which lasted from September 1916 and October 1917 he ran ten times and won eight races, includ ...
, a horse which needed to be given a lead. Donoghue asked Wheatley, riding Nassovian, whether he might oblige. Wheatley refused, saying he had been given orders by his trainer to wait. All the other jockeys took the same stance, with the result that all four runners stood still at the start. The starter threatened he would report the jockeys to the stewards, they started at a slow canter, then Donoghue had the idea to crack Nassovian on the rear with his whip. Nassovian set off at speed, Gay Crusader tracked him before pulling past and winning comfortably. At the finish, Wheatley was found tending to the gash across his horse's hind quarters. He asked Donoghue, "What am I going to say when the trainer sees me?". Donoghue quipped back, "Tell him you've been promoted to lance-corporal and you've been given your first stripe." After the war, though, Wheatley's career began to falter again. In 1923, he was kept out of action for most of the season through illness and even though he fully recovered and was riding again the following season, the lean spell continued to the point where "his past exploits would seem to have been almost forgotten" Eventually, Wheatley returned North, where he was once again a big fish in a small pond.


Trainer

Wheatley's next career step took him to
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
where he spent most of the remainder of his life. In 1933, retired from racing, he was appointed principal trainer to King Fuad. He remained in Egypt until his wife's death in 1951, whereupon he returned home to Ilkeston. He died there in October 1951.


Personal life

Wheatley married twice. His first wife died in the summer of 1912 and shortly after he married actress Maudie Wood, sister of music hall star
Marie Lloyd Matilda Alice Victoria Wood (12 February 1870 – 7 October 1922), professionally known as Marie Lloyd (), was an English music hall singer, comedian and musical theatre actress. She was best known for her performances of songs such as " T ...
, in
Brixton, London Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...
.


Major wins

Great Britain *
St. Leger The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a d ...
– ''Night Hawk (1913)''


Career record

* 1905 – 125 * 1906 – not known * 1907 – 44 * 1908 – 25 * 1909 – 27 * 1910 – 41 * 1911 – 17 * 1912 – 73 * 1913 – 79 * 1914 – 45 * 1915 onwards – not known


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheatley, Elijah English jockeys 1951 deaths British Champion flat jockeys Year of birth missing