Herbert Charles Denton "Frenchie" Nicholson was a

horse 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 and trainer. Nicholson acquired his nickname after having been apprenticed in the French city of

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department **US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missou ...

, moving to a stable yard in

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

to continue his training. He had a major success early on in his career, winning the 1936

Champion Hurdle The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a ...

Victor Norman Victor Danielsen Norman (born 18 July 1946 in Risør) is a Norwegian economist, politician for the Conservative Party and newspaper columnist. He is a retired professor of economics at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) and former Chairman ...

. He won the 1942

Cheltenham Gold Cup The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlongs ( ...

Medoc II Medoc II (also known simply as Medoc, foaled 1934) was a French-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1942 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He won races at the Cheltenham Festival in 1938, 1940 and 1941 before defeating a strong field in ...

before the race was suspended for the remainder of the 2nd World War. Nicholson also rode the renowned Irish racehorse,

Golden Miller Golden Miller (1927–1957) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who is the most successful Cheltenham Gold Cup horse ever, winning the race in five consecutive years between 1932 and 1936. He also is the only horse to win both of the United Kingdom's p ...

. In 1946-47 he shared the Jockey's Championship with

Fred Rimell Thomas Frederic Rimell (24 June 1913 – 12 July 1981), better known as Fred Rimell, was a British champion National Hunt racing jockey and horse trainer. He was champion jockey three times and leading trainer five times. Rimell was the fi ...

. Following the war he worked as a trainer and was prominent in the training of jockeys both for steeplechase and flat racing. He trained, amongst others,

Pat Eddery Patrick James John Eddery (18 March 1952 – 10 November 2015) was an Irish flat racing jockey and trainer. He rode three winners of the Derby and was Champion Jockey on eleven occasions. He rode the winners of 4,632 British flat races, a f ...

Walter Swinburn Walter Robert John Swinburn (7 August 1961 – 12 December 2016) was a flat racing jockey and trainer who competed in Great Britain and internationally. Biography Swinburn was born in Oxford. He was the son of Wally Swinburn, who won ...

Mouse Morris Michael "Mouse" Morris, formally the Hon. Michael Morris, (born 4 April 1951) is an Irish racehorse trainer and former amateur and professional jockey. As a trainer, he has won the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and has won the Iri ...

Brough Scott John Brough Scott, MBE (born 12 December 1942) is a British horse racing journalist, radio and television presenter, and former jockey. He is also the grandson and biographer of the noted Great War soldier "Galloper Jack" Seely. Scott was ed ...

and

Paul Cook Paul Thomas Cook (born 20 July 1956) is an English drummer and member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He was also called "Cookie" by his friends on the punk music scene. Early life and career Cook was raised in Hammersmith and atte ...

at his Prestbury stables. Nicholson's son,

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

was also a jockey and trainer.

References

English jockeys British racehorse trainers English expatriates in France {{UK-equestrian-bio-stub