James "Jem" Chapple (1801/1802 - 10 June 1858) was a

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-winning

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 ...

. A "first-class and thoroughly English jockey" he won the

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

- Oaks double in 1833, and a further Derby in 1838.

Career

He was born in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

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in 1801 or 1802, but learnt his trade at

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's stable in Newmarket. He lived in

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, and apart from some time spent in

Northleach Northleach is a market town and former civil parish, now in parish Northleach with Eastington, in the Cotswold district, in Gloucestershire, England. The town is in the valley of the River Leach in the Cotswolds, about northeast of Cirencester ...

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- rode almost exclusively at Newmarket. On his riding, it is said he worked "like a galley slave". His greatest success came in 1833, when he won both the Derby and Oaks, riding

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and 50/1 outsider

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respectively. The former win was not without controversy, however, as it is reported that Dangerous was a four-year-old, and thus ineligible for the Derby (a race for three-year-olds). He was also

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at the start, Chapple stating that he would not have given a pint of

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for his chance. He would go on to win a legitimate Derby in 1838 on the brown colt,

Amato Amato ( Calabrian: ; ) is an Arbëreshë ''comune'' and town in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of Italy. History Amato is one of the oldest towns in Calabria. It is mentioned by the Greek philosopher Aristotle and by the Roman P ...

. This was to be the only time the horse raced, as he was injured soon after winning and retired. After this, having won enough to fit his profession around his leisure time, Chapple rarely rode except for Sir Gilbert Heathcote, Amato's owner. Late in his career, however, he made a significant return to the track ("as fresh as paint") when winning the 1850 Autumn Double - the

Cesarewitch The Cesarewitch Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Newmarket over a distance of 2 miles and 2 furlongs (3,621 metres) ...

on Mr Payne’s Glauca and the

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on Mr. Gratwicke’s Landgrave. His last ride came on the 5/1 unplaced favourite Songstress in the 1853 Cesarewitch.

Personal life

Despite his success, Chapple did not have a particular enthusiasm for racing and never discussed it. His reputation was for being quiet, unassuming and thrifty, and he never had substantial sums on a horse, unless he knew it had a lot in hand over its rivals. He was "quite one of the old school", shunning high fashion and frippery. He married Eleanor Jennings at St Mary’s Church, Newmarket on 9 Dec 1835 and they had one daughter, Letitia Eleanor. He was mentally alert to the end of his life, but after a period of long and gradual physical decline, he died on Thursday, 10 June 1858, leaving an estate of under £8,000. His age at death has been given as 62, but this would contradict his birth year given elsewhere. He is buried at St Laurence and St Peter,

Eriswell Eriswell is a village and civil parish of West Suffolk in the English county of Suffolk. About forty scattered archaeological finds have been made here, including Bronze Age battle axes, palstaves and rapiers. The greater part of these objects ...

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. The Hare and Hounds pub in Chalk Lane, Epsom, was renamed The Amato as a tribute to Chapple's 1838 Derby winner.

Major wins

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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 ...

- (2) - ''

(1833)'', ''

(1838)'' *

Epsom Oaks 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 (2, ...

- ''

(1833)''

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapple, Jem 1858 deaths English jockeys Year of birth uncertain Sportspeople from Exeter