Thomas Olliver (1812 – 7 January 1874), born Oliver or Olivere, was a
steeplechase jockey and
racehorse trainer who won three
Grand National
The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap st ...
s as a rider in the 1840s and 1850s.
Olliver began riding at the age of six, not uncommon for the times, before becoming a stable lad to his uncle, one Mr Page, and later progressing into racing over obstacles, falling in his first ride at
Finchley.
Olliver was among the seventeen riders who participated in the first official running of the
Grand National
The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap st ...
in
1839
Events
January–March
* January 2 – The first photograph of the Moon is taken, by French photographer Louis Daguerre.
* January 6 – Night of the Big Wind: Ireland is struck by the most damaging cyclone in 300 years.
* January 9 – ...
, finishing second on
Seventy Four
70 (seventy) is the natural number following 69 and preceding 71.
In mathematics
70 is:
* a sphenic number because it factors as 3 distinct primes.
* a Pell number.
* the seventh pentagonal number.
* the fourth tridecagonal number.
* the fif ...
. He went on to ride in a record nineteen Nationals, a feat not equalled until 2014.
His first victory came in
1842
Events
January–March
* January
** Michael Alexander takes office, as the first appointee to the Anglican-German Bishopric in Jerusalem.
** American medical student William E. Clarke of Berkshire Medical College becomes the first pe ...
when he piloted
Gaylad. He became the first dual winning rider the following year when he rode
Vanguard
The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force.
History
The vanguard derives fr ...
. The latter was later presented to Olliver as a gift, and he held the horse in such high esteem that when Vanguard died, Olliver had his hide used to make a sofa, which today is the property of
Aintree racecourse.
Olliver's final victory in the National came aboard the veteran
Peter Simple in
1853
Events
January–March
* January 6 – Florida Governor Thomas Brown signs legislation that provides public support for the new East Florida Seminary, leading to the establishment of the University of Florida.
* January 8 – Taiping R ...
. He told the owner before the race, ''"Sometimes he means it and I don't, sometimes I means it he don't but today we both mean it''." but Olliver also had several near misses. In addition to the aforementioned Seventy Four, beaten three lengths, he finished as runner up on
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 ...
, 1847, beaten a length and
The Curate, 1848, beaten half a length, thus missing a record six victories, which would have stood to this day, by four and a half lengths. In Olliver's other National rides, he was third once and failed to complete the course ten times.
Away from the course, Olliver was known for his swarthy dark looks, which led many to believe that his ancestry was either Spanish or Gypsy or even both. This led him to be known as 'Black' Tom. His interest in women, combined with his love of a party and with a sense of generosity, often saw him in grave financial difficulties. On one occasion, when he had been placed in the 'Pokey' (
Debtors' prison
A debtors' prison is a prison for people who are unable to pay debt. Until the mid-19th century, debtors' prisons (usually similar in form to locked workhouses) were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe.Cory, Lucinda"A Histori ...
), he was visited by some cavalry officers. The story goes that when asked if there was anything they could provide for him, he replied, ''"Get me a damn good wall jumper.''"
[A-Z of the Grand National-Cottrell & Armytage pp365] Olliver described himself as "''Hopelessly insolvent''." even going to the length of adding the second l to his original surname Oliver, claiming that ''"It is better to have an extra £ in hand.''" (L is the symbol for the British pound.)
Olliver's last National was in 1858, after which time he retired from the saddle and became the landlord of 'The Star' public house in
Leamington. He soon grew to miss racing and set himself up as a trainer in
Wroughton
Wroughton is a large village and civil parish in northeast Wiltshire, England. It is part of the Borough of Swindon and lies along the A4361 between Swindon and Avebury; the road into Swindon crosses the M4 motorway between junctions 15 ...
in Wiltshire. In the winter of 1873, he set about preparing his
George Frederick for a crack at the 1874
Epsom Derby, but his health began to deteriorate and in January 1874 he died at the age of sixty-one. Olliver's head lad continued the preparations of the horse, who won the richest prize in English racing that summer.
References
*Sporting Magazine April 1840
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olliver, Tom
1812 births
1874 deaths
English jockeys
People from Arun District
British racehorse trainers