John Watts (1861–1902) was a British flat-race jockey. In a career that lasted from 1880 until 1900 he rode the winners of 19

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

. He was noted for his quiet and unspectacular style and undemonstrative personality. On his retirement from riding he became a trainer, but died two years later.

Apprenticeship

Jack Watts was born at

Stockbridge, Hampshire Stockbridge is a small town and civil parish in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. It is one of the smallest towns in the United Kingdom with a population of 592 at the 2011 census. It sits astride the River Test and at the foot of ...

in 1861. In his mid teens he was apprenticed to the trainer Tom Cannon at Danebury, and rode his first winner in 1876. In 1878 he moved to Newmarket and joined the successful stable of Richard Marsh. His association with Marsh would last throughout his career.

Major successes

Marsh's patrons included the

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

and the

Duke of Hamilton Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that peerage (except for the Dukedom of Rothesay held by the Sovereign's eldest son), and as such its holder is the premier peer of Sco ...

, providing Watts with a string of top class rides. His major winners for the Duke included Ossian (

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

Miss Jummy Miss Jummy (1883–1889), was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare who won two British Classic Races in 1886. In a career that lasted from July 1885 to September 1886 the filly ran fifteen times and won eight races at distances ran ...

(

1000 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 ...

, Oaks), while the Prince provided him with probably his best horse, the Derby winner

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. Watts was less fortunate with the Prince's second Derby winner,

Diamond Jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th annivers ...

, who loathed the jockey and tried to attack him before the

Coventry Stakes The Coventry Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each ...

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

. Watts subsequently gave up the ride on the temperamental colt. Watts was also successful when riding for other owners and trainers including

Mathew Dawson Mathew Dawson (1820–1898) was a British racehorse trainer. In a career which lasted from 1840 until his death in 1898 he trained the winners of twenty-eight British Classic Races, a figure surpassed by only two other men. He was significan ...

and

John Porter John Porter may refer to: Politicians * John Porter (portreeve), 1390–94, Member of Parliament (MP) for Taunton * John Porter (Illinois politician) (1935–2022), Illinois politician, U.S. Representative * John Porter (MP for Bramber) (died 1599 ...

for whom he rode the Derby winners Ladas and

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respectively.

Retirement and death

By 1895 Watts was having serious weight problems and the constant "wasting" was affecting his health. He resolved to retire at the end of 1895, but was persuaded to reconsider by Marsh. Watts finally retired in 1900 and set himself up as a trainer at Newmarket, where his patrons included the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

. He health was never good, however and he died on 29 July 1902 after falling ill at a race meeting at

Sandown Sandown is a seaside resort and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom with the resort of Shanklin to the south and the settlement of Lake, Isle of Wight, Lake in between. Together ...

. He was forty-one years old. His funeral on 2 August was attended by "almost the entire town" of Newmarket.

Family and descendants

Jack Watts was married twice and started a dynasty of trainers. His son John Evelyn Watts trained the 1927 Derby winner Call Boy, and his grandson John Frederick Watts became private trainer to Lord Derby and won the St Leger with

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

in 1964. His son Harry was killed in action during the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, whilst his son Claude, a Leading Aircraftsman, by his second marriage was killed in a military accident in Suffolk in 1942. Jack Watts' great-grandson, John William "Bill" Watts trained Waterloo to win the

1000 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 ...

in 1972 and

Teleprompter A teleprompter, also known as an autocue, is a display device that prompts the person speaking with an electronic visual text of a speech or script. Using a teleprompter is similar to using cue cards. The screen is in front of, and usually be ...

to win the 1985

Arlington Million The Arlington Million is a Grade 1 flat horse race in the United States for thoroughbred horses aged three years and upward on the turf. It was originally raced at the now-closed Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois over a distance of m ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, John 1861 births 1902 deaths English jockeys