John Jackson (1768 - 1839) was an eight-time

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 ...

-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 ...

and the leading jockey in Northern England around the turn of the 19th century. He is the second winningmost jockey in the history of the Doncaster

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 ...

, joint with

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 f ...

and behind only

John Scott John Scott may refer to: Academics * John Scott (1639–1695), English clergyman and devotional writer * John Witherspoon Scott (1800–1892), American minister, college president, and father of First Lady Caroline Harrison * John Work Scott (180 ...

Career

He started out as apprentice to a Mr Burdon at Stainton-in-Cleveland. Later he was associated with the successful

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. ...

trainer John Mangle, riding at a weight at 7 stone, 7 pounds. He won his first St Leger in 1791 on Young Traveller and followed up in 1794 (

Beningbrough Beningbrough is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. The population as taken at the 2011 Census was less than 100. Details are included in the civil parish of Shipton, North Yorkshire. Beningbroug ...

), 1796 ( Ambrosio), 1798 (

Symmetry Symmetry (from grc, συμμετρία "agreement in dimensions, due proportion, arrangement") in everyday language refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, "symmetry" has a more precise definit ...

) and 1805 (

Staveley Staveley may refer to: Places * Staveley, Cumbria, village in the former county of Westmorland and now in Cumbria, England ** Staveley railway station * Staveley-in-Cartmel, village formerly in Lancashire, now in Cumbria, England * Staveley, D ...

) He won the 1813 St Leger on the T Sykes-trained, R Watt-owned

Altisidora Altisidora (1810–1825) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare best known for winning the classic St Leger Stakes in 1813. Bred, trained and raced in Yorkshire she won two of her three races as a two-year-old in 1812. She was un ...

and the 1815 edition on

Filho da Puta Filho da Puta (, 14 April 1812 – 25 August 1835) was a Great Britain, British Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse. He won nine of his 12 races including the St. Leger Stakes and Doncaster Cup, Doncaster Gold Cup. He also sired St. Leger w ...

. But things went wrong when trying to win an eighth on Blacklock. Described as a true distance horse, with a huge stride, "requiring a half-mile to settle it", Blacklock was a strong fancy for the race. Sykes instructed Jackson to "ride him as thou lik'st, only lay thee hands down, and let him stride along, and he'll distance the lot". True to form, at the distance post, Blacklock had a three length lead. Sykes called Jackson to steady him, "thou hast it all thy own way", but the call was heard by the jockey on his rival Ebor, who moved into Blacklock's blind spot and came past him to win by a head. Sykes was allegedly enraged by Jackson's riding, and eventually succeeded in having him dismissed from Watt's service, although in reality it was Sykes' call that had cost Blacklock the win. Jackson and Sykes now hated each other, Jackson blaming Sykes for the loss of his job. Jackson turned to drink and his behaviour became increasingly erratic. One night, after drinking heavily at

Catterick Bridge Catterick Bridge is both a bridge across the River Swale in North Yorkshire, England, about 1 mile north of Catterick, and a hamlet at the south end of the bridge. The bridge The bridge carries the A6136 road (once the Great North Road). ...

, he stepped outside the inn to fight Sykes, but was so drunk he mistakenly ended up fighting a passing chimney sweep instead. He won a further St Legers after this incident - on

Theodore Theodore may refer to: Places * Theodore, Alabama, United States * Theodore, Australian Capital Territory * Theodore, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Banana, Australia * Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada * Theodore Reservoir, a lake in Sask ...

in 1822 - but by 1823 he was "no longer employable" and went into retirement. His St Leger victories were described as "a circumstance unparalleled among jockeys" and his career was said to have eclipsed that of "one of the oldest, best, and ... most successful of the northern jockeys", Robert Johnson. On retiring, he first bought the Racecourse Farm at Allerton, then became landlord of the Black Swan Inn in the town. He was generous with his friends and died, virtually penniless, in Allerton on 5 August 1839. Jackson fathered 12 children.

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 ...

St Leger Stakes 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 ...

- (8) - '' Young Traveller (1791),

(1794), Ambrosio (1796),

(1798),

(1805),

(1813),

(1815),

(1822)''

References

{{reflist, 2, refs= {{cite web, url=https://eclipsemagazine.co.uk/doncaster-st-leger-2016-facts-figures/ , title=Doncaster St Leger: Facts & Figures , date=7 September 2016 , publisher=Eclipse Magazine , access-date=29 January 2022 {{cite web, url=https://sites.google.com/site/jockeypedia/jackson , title=John Jackson , publisher=Jockeypedia , access-date=29 January 2022 {{cite magazine , year=1833 , title=A Treatise on the Care, Treatment, and Training of the English Race-horse , magazine=Quarterly Review , location=London , publisher=John Murray , last=Darvill , first=R , volume=XLIX , page=401 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h2sJAAAAQAAJ , access-date=29 January 2022 {{cite web, url=https://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/Blacklock.html , title=Blacklock , publisher=Thoroughbred Heritage , access-date=29 January 2022 1768 births 1839 deaths

Career

Major wins

See also

References