James Robinson (1794–1873) was a British
Jockey. In a riding career which lasted until 1852 he rode the winners of 24
British Classic Races. His six wins in
The Derby set a record which was not surpassed until
Lester Piggott
Lester Keith Piggott (5 November 1935 – 29 May 2022) was an English professional jockey and trainer. With 4,493 career flat racing wins in Britain, including a record nine Epsom Derby victories, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest ...
won his seventh Derby in 1976. His record of nine wins in the
2000 Guineas
The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year ...
remains unequaled. Robinson, who was often known as "Jem", retired from riding after an injury in 1852 and died in 1873.
Background
Robinson was born at
Newmarket, Suffolk. His father, John (''d''1845), was a trainer, while his older brother, also John (''d''1863), prepared Tarantella to win the 1833
1,000 Guineas
The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...
. His half-brother, Tom Robinson (''d''1875), rode the first and third winners of the
Prix du Jockey Club
The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly over ...
. Jem Robinson was apprenticed at the stable of
Robert Robson at Newmarket where he remained for thirteen years and he was trained in race riding by
Frank Buckle.
Riding career
Robinson developed a riding style which saw him employ a low, crouching posture, especially in a finish. This was closer to the modern style introduced to England by American riders such as
Tod Sloan at the end of the century and in contrast to most jockeys of the time who tended to sit "bolt upright". Even by the standards of his time, Robinson made frequent and vigorous use of the
whip, leaving some of his mounts bleeding. One horse named Ardrossan was so affected that he later attacked Robinson on the training gallops and the jockey narrowly escaped serious injury.
Robinson recorded his first major win when he won the 1817 Derby on
Azor
Azor ( he, אָזוֹר, ar, أزور) (also ''Azur'') is a small town ( local council) in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, on the old Jaffa-Jerusalem road southeast of Tel Aviv. Established in 1948 on the site of the depopulated Palestinian vi ...
, a horse who had been entered in the race to make the pace for a more fancied stable companion. In 1824 he won both the Derby (on
Cedric
Cedric () is a masculine given name invented by Walter Scott in the 1819 novel '' Ivanhoe''.Sir Walter Scott, Graham Tulloch (ed.), ''Ivanhoe'', vol. 8 of The Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels, Edinburgh University Press, 1998, , "explanato ...
) and the
Oaks Stakes
The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards ( ...
(on
Augusta) in the same week as his marriage to a Miss Powell. He won the Derby again on
Middleton in 1825 and
Mameluke
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') i ...
in 1827. In 1828 he rode the
2000 Guineas
The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year ...
winner
Cadland
Cadland (1825–1837) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from April 1828 to 1831 he ran twenty-five times and won fifteen races, with several of his wins being walkovers in which all of his opponents were w ...
to a
dead heat
A dead heat is a rare situation in various racing sports in which the performances of competitors are judged to be so close that no difference between them can be resolved. The result is declared a tie and the competitors are awarded a joint ra ...
with the Yorkshire-trained The Colonel in the Derby. The race was decided by a run-off which saw Robinson comprehensively outride the leading Northern jockey
Bill Scott to take the race for the fifth time.
Robinson rode his last Derby winner in 1836, when he partnered
Bay Middleton
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a nar ...
to a two length win over Bill Scott on Gladiator.
In 1852 Robinson was injured in a fall at Newmarket when a two-year-old colt named Feramorz swerved at the start of a match race. Robinson's
stirrup leather snapped and he was thrown from the horse fracturing his left
femur
The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates wit ...
,
collar bone
The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on the righ ...
and several ribs. The leg injury did not heal properly leaving him unable to ride and forcing him into retirement.
Retirement
Robinson used most of his earnings from riding to build a training yard at Newmarket. He showed little interest in running the stable, spending much of his time socialising in London.
He gave away much of his remaining money to friends and was only saved from poverty later in life by the support of the Dukes of
Rutland and
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
. Robinson died at his home at Rutland Place, Newmarket, in 1873
and was buried in Newmarket cemetery.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, James
1794 births
1873 deaths
British jockeys