Samuel "Sam" Chifney (''c.'' 1753 – 8 January 1807), also known as Sam Chifney Sr., Sam Chifney the Elder or Old Sam Chifney
[ to distinguish him from his son, was an English jockey. He was a pioneer of professional race-riding, developing a trademark late finishing style, known as the 'Chifney rush' and was the retained jockey of the ]Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
. He became the leading horseman of his day, winning four runnings of the Oaks and one of 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 g ...
, but his career ended in ignominy after a scandal around a ride on the Prince of Wales's horse, Escape. Despite inventing a bit
The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communications. The name is a portmanteau of binary digit. The bit represents a logical state with one of two possible values. These values are most commonly represente ...
for horses that is still in use today, he died in debtors' prison in London.
Riding career
Chifney was born in Northwold
Northwold ("''North forest''") is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.
It covers an area of and had a population of 1,070 in 448 households at the 2001 census, increasing to 1,085 at the 2011 Census.
For the purposes of ...
, Norfolk around 1753 and, entering Foxe's stables at Newmarket Racecourse
Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of British horserac ...
in 1770, soon learned the rudiments of horse racing. He said of himself, "In 1773 I could ride horses in a better manner in a race to beat others than any other person ever known in my time, and in 1775 I could train horses for running better than any person I ever yet saw. Riding I learnt myself and training I learnt from Mr. Richard Prince, training groom to Lord Foley". In 1787 he rode for the Duke of Bedford, and two years later won The Derby on Skyscraper for the Duke. For Lord Grosvenor he won The Oaks on Ceres in 1782, and on Maid of the Oaks in 1783.
In 1789 Chifney rode the winners of both 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 g ...
and the Oaks, riding Skyscraper to victory in the Derby for the Duke of Bedford and Tagg for Lord Egremont in the Oaks, becoming the first man to ride the double. The next year he won the Oaks again, riding Hypolita for the Duke of Bedford.
Few people liked Chifney, many regarding him as an "arrogant little upstart" from Norfolk. He was also known to be something of a dandy
A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance. A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle des ...
, to an extent that bordered on the effeminate, with hair flowing out from the front of his cap, ruffs and frills on his clothing and bunches of ribbons on his boots. This self-confidence and attitude distinguished him as "the first professional jockey as we understand the term", although added to this, he had a reputation for dishonesty – "he dressed like a mannequin, nurtured an ego the size of a house and was as bent as a paper clip."
Riding style
Chifney was an instinctive horseman, whose considered approach contrasted with the untutored 'grooms' who had come before him.
He is widely considered to have transformed race-riding, "from a ritual slogging match, to a mounted chess game."
Chifney's style of riding was to keep a slack rein – a method which has never found much favour, but which in his case was successful. He wrote that when pulling up, one should never jerk the mouth of the horse, doing it "as if you had a silken rein, as fine as a hair, and you were afraid of breaking it" and that the horse "should be enticed to ease himself an inch at a time, as his situation will allow." At Guildford for the King's Plate, he was given a heavy bridle for the horse Knowsley, a notoriously hard puller. He is reported to have said, "take away that silly gimcrack and bring me a plain snaffle." He won easily that day, and again at Winchester subsequently.
On Eagle, an idle horse that he advised the Duke of Dorset
Duke of Dorset was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1720 for the politician Lionel Sackville, 7th Earl of Dorset.
History
The Sackville family descended from Sir Richard Sackville. His only surviving son, Thomas S ...
to buy from Sir Frank Standish, he ran in the King's Plate at Newmarket. Standish was so sure that no-one could get the best out of the horse, that he advised Dorset not to back him "for a halfpenny." Chifney responded saying, "I'll let Sir Frank Standish see whether I can get him out or not and what's more, I'll neither use whip nor spur to him." The horse won by a neck, with neither whip nor spur, as Chifney had said.
Another favoured tactic of Chifney's was easing the load on a horse's back by constantly adjusting his seat throughout a race. "Suppose a man had been carrying a stone in one hand, would he not find much ease by shifting it into the other?" he himself argued.
Most distinctively, Chifney was also one of the first to ride a waiting race, coming towards the finish with a tremendous rush. In fact, the idea of saving a horse for a late run became known as the 'Chifney rush'. Chifney's manner of riding has been described thus: "He approached a race as if it were a piece of music, playing it slow and quiet until coming at the end with a beautifully modulated crescendo, sweeping past his one-paced rivals." He was considered the best horseman of his time; at tall, he could ride at 7 stone 12 pounds – – reducing from his natural weight of 9 stone 5 pounds during the summer.
He was regarded by fellow jockey, Frank Buckle, as a "model of perfection".[
]
The Escape scandal
On 14 July 1790 Chifney was hired as "rider for life" by the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
to ride his racehorses at a salary of 200 guineas
The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...
a year. However, in the second year of his commission, Chifney became embroiled in a scandal which would ruin his career.
On Thursday 20 October, Chifney rode the Prince's horse, Escape, at Newmarket in a 60 guinea race over two miles of the Ditch in Course. He started as 2/1 on favourite but finished last of four, behind Mr Dawson's Coriander, Lord Grosvenor's Skylark and Lord Clermont's Pipator. The following day at odds of 5/1, Escape then overturned the form to win over four miles of the Beacon Course, ahead of Skylark in third.
Suspicions were immediately raised that Chifney had pulled the horse in the original race to secure a better price for his money on the Friday. Warwick Lake, the Prince's racing manager, fearing the furore that was to break, immediately responded to the Prince, saying, "I give your Royal Highness joy, but I am sorry the horse has won. I would sooner have given a hundred guineas." Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled ''The Honourable'' from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the arch-riv ...
wrote in a letter at the time, "... people will suspect".
Chifney was duly summoned before the Jockey Club to explain himself. He stated that the horse had needed the race on the Thursday to "clear his pipes" and, knowing this, he had had no bet on the first run and 20 guineas
The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...
on the second. The stewards did not accept the explanation and warned the Prince of Wales that if he continued to use Chifney, no gentleman would race against him. In consequence, not wanting to make an example of his jockey, the Prince of Wales sold his stable and ended his connection with the turf. He told Chifney he would be unlikely to return to ownership, "but if I ever do, Sam Chifney, you shall train and manage them. You shall have your 200 guineas a year all the same. I cannot give it to you for your life, I can only give it to you for my own. You have been a good and honest servant to me." Seeing Chifney later at Brighton in 1802, he remarked, "Sam Chifney, there's never been a proper apology made; they he Jockey Clubused me and you very ill. They are bad people – I'll not set foot on the ground more."
It has been suggested that in the modern day, Chifney's justification for Escape's performance would have been accepted by stewards. Escape had never been a consistent horse, the two races were over different distances and he may indeed have needed a race. Moreover, he had won twice over the Beacon Course in October, but tried over the two-mile Oatlands Stakes at Ascot, he had been beaten into fourth. So, while there may indeed have been sharp practice Sharp practice or sharp dealing is a pejorative phrase to describe sneaky or cunning behavior that is technically within the rules of the law but borders on being unethical.
The term has been used by judges in Canada; in one a Canadian Construct ...
involved, in the absence of evidence, the explanation would have to be accepted under modern rules. This has led some to conclude that the incident may just have been the opportunity the stewards needed to target Chifney, who had long been under suspicion. Warwick Lake was known to dislike Chifney's influence and arrogance and may, according to Jockey Club member Anthony St Leger, have been the driving force behind the case.
Later life
In 1795 Chifney, in reduced circumstances, wrote and published (or probably had written for him) a book entitled ''Genius Genuine, by Samuel Chifney of Newmarket''. This book, although merely an octavo
Octavo, a Latin word meaning "in eighth" or "for the eighth time", (abbreviated 8vo, 8º, or In-8) is a technical term describing the format of a book, which refers to the size of leaves produced from folding a full sheet of paper on which multip ...
of 170 pages, sold for £5. Sales must have been adequate, for a second edition appeared in 1804. In 1800, he published ''The Narrative or Address of Samuel Chifney, Rider for Life to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales'' at a price of two shillings sixpence. The year before, he was again castigated for his riding of Mr. Cookson's Sir Harry, but it afterwards became apparent that in this case the horse and not the rider was at fault. Chifney left Newmarket for London in 1800, never to return.
In 1806, he sold his annuity of 200 guineas from the Prince of Wales for £1,260. Chifney invented a bit for horses, which is named after him and still in use. It consists of a curb
A curb (North American English), or kerb (Commonwealth English except Canada; see spelling differences), is the edge where a raised sidewalk or road median/central reservation meets a street or other roadway.
History
Although curbs have ...
and two snaffles, and exerts greater pressure on the sides of the horse's mouth. The Chifney bit is sometimes described as an Uppingham bit with pelham cheeks and a snaffle mouth.[Patents 1805, No. 2809] He had hoped the Jockey Club might fund the bit, saying, "if the Jockey Club will be pleased to give me 200 guineas, I will make them a bridle as I believe never was, and I believe never can be, excelled, for their light weights to hold horses from running away." The Jockey Club never took up the offer, and in connection with his bit he became indebted to a saddler named Latchford for £350. He was committed to Fleet Prison for the debt, and died there aged 52 on 8 January 1807. Chifney is buried at St. Sepulchre-without-Newgate, Holborn
Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London.
The area has its root ...
.
Family
Chifney married the daughter of Newmarket trainer Frank Smallman. They had two sons, both well known, and four daughters. The elder son, William Chifney
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
(born at Newmarket in 1784), became a trainer at Newmarket. On 31 May 1803 he publicly thrashed Lieutenant-Colonel George Leigh (an equerry to the Prince of Wales) for accusing his father of cheating during the Escape case. For that assault, he was imprisoned for six months in Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
. He died in Pancras Square, Pancras Road, London on 14 October 1862.
Chifney's younger son, Samuel, was born in 1786. He also became jockey to the Prince of Wales, first riding for him at the Stockbridge meeting in 1802. He also used the slack-rein technique originated by his father and 'the Chifney rush'. He was five times winner of the Oaks, twice of the Derby and once, aged 57, of the 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 ...
.
One of his daughters married the royal trainer William Butler (c. 1783–1827), and became the mother of the well-known jockey Frank Butler, another married a Mr Weatherby of Newmarket.
See also
* List of significant families in British horse racing
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
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External link
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chifney, Samuel
1753 births
1807 deaths
People from Northwold
English jockeys