Anthony Bingham Mildmay, 2nd Baron Mildmay of Flete
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Anthony Bingham Mildmay, 2nd Baron Mildmay of Flete (14 April 1909 – 12 May 1950) was an English amateur steeplechaser, who raced in 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 ...
. He also inspired
the Queen Mother ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
's interest in
National Hunt racing In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...
.


Early life

Mildmay was the son of
Francis Bingham Mildmay, 1st Baron Mildmay of Flete Francis Bingham Mildmay, 1st Baron Mildmay of Flete, TD, DL (26 April 1861 – 8 February 1947) was initially a Liberal and later a Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 until 1922 when he was raised to the peerage ...
and his wife Alice Grenfell.L. G. Pine, ''The New Extinct Peerage 1884–1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant and Suspended Peerages With Genealogies and Arms'' (London, U.K.: Heraldry Today, 1972) He was educated at St Cyprian's School,
Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
, where he was encouraged to
ride Ride may refer to: People * MC Ride, a member of Death Grips * Sally Ride (1951–2012), American astronaut * William Ride (19262011), Australian zoologist Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Ride'' (1998 film), a 1998 comedy by Millicen ...
on the
South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the eas ...
, and at
Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...
. He then went up to
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
, where he was a member of the
University Pitt Club The University Pitt Club, popularly referred to as the Pitt Club, the UPC, or merely as Club, is a private members' club of the University of Cambridge, with a previously male-only membership but now open to both men and women. History The ...
. He fought in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, as an officer in the
Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V. ...
, rising to the rank of captain. He succeeded to the title of 2nd
Baron Mildmay of Flete Baron Mildmay of Flete, of Totnes in the County of Devon, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 20 November 1922 for Francis Mildmay, for many years Member of Parliament for Totnes. He was the grandson of Humphr ...
on 8 February 1947.


Steeplechasing

"Nitty" Mildmay, a gaunt, stoop-shouldered six-footer, was a well-known and popular amateur steeplechaser. He rode in 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 ...
before and after the war, becoming known as a persistent 'trier', despite several episodes of bad luck. In 1936, riding the 100-1 Davy Jones, he was leading at the 2nd to last fence when a buckle on the reins broke and the horse ran out. In 1947, he fell at Folkestone and injured his neck, which gave rise to a number of disabling attacks of cramp. In the 1948 Grand National he finished third on his favourite horse Cromwell, after an attack of the cramp meant he was just a passenger. During his career, he rode 197 winners from 1,037 rides under National Hunt Rules. His highest was 38 winners in 1949/50 season. He was the Leading Amateur 4 times and shared the title in 1937/38. He rode eight winners at Cheltenham, including three at The Festival. His final winner was on his own good hunter chaser Prince Brownie at the now defunct Kent racecourse of Wye on Monday 8 May 1950. His final ride was in the following Handicap Hurdle when he was placed 5th riding Peter Cazalet's Lady Beware "making up a lot of late ground". However, Mildmay's most notable legacy was probably in kindling an interest in jump-racing in her Majesty
the Queen Mother ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
. At a dinner in
Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...
in 1949, Mildmay sat next to the then Queen Elizabeth and persuaded her that he should buy her a horse, to share with her daughter, then Princess Elizabeth. Mildmay's trainer Peter Cazalet selected Monaveen for them. Monaveen won his first race for them, at Fontwell Park, finished second in the Grand Sefton Chase at
Aintree Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, north-east of Liverpool city centre, in North West England. I ...
, and then took the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Chase at
Hurst Park Hurst Park Racecourse was a racecourse at Moulsey Hurst, West Molesey, Surrey, near the River Thames. It was first laid out in 1890 and held its last race in 1962. There was racing at nearby Hampton for many years until 1887. The first meeting a ...
. The result was a passion for the sport that lasted the Queen Mother for the rest of her life.


Early death

In 1950, Mildmay suffered an attack of cramp while swimming off the south Devon coast. He drowned at the age of 41. He was unmarried and the title became extinct.


Commemoration

Mildmay left his horses to his old racing and wartime colleague Peter Cazalet. Among them was Manicou, which became the Queen Mother's second steeplechaser. The Times called him "The Last of the Corinthians" and wrote: "there never was a harder rider, a better loser or a more popular winner: and though he has always valued the race more than the victory and the victory more than the prize, he would not perhaps have disdained the reward he has won - which is a kind of immortality among the English".Encyclopaedia of Steeplechasing compiled by Patricia Smyly 1979 He was commemorated in several events initiated by his friends. These include: the Mildmay of Flete Handicap Chase at Cheltenham Racecourse, the Mildmay Stakes at
Newton Abbot Racecourse Newton Abbot Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located on the north bank of the River Teign in the parishes of Kingsteignton and Teigngrace just north of Newton Abbot, Devon, England. The course is a tight, flat left-handed oval of ...
, and the Anthony Mildmay, Peter Cazalet Memorial Chase at
Sandown Park Racecourse Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt races and one Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. It regularly has horse rac ...
.These races have all now changed their names. The Grade 2 Mildmay Novices 'Chase is run at Aintree over the Mildmay Course on the 2nd day of the Grand National Meeting. He was commemorated in The Mildmay Course at Aintree Racecourse, which opened in memory of him, in 195
Aintree Liverpool Grand National History
. The Mildmay course at Aintree was designed by Lord Mildmay and Sir John Crocker Bulteel to introduce novice horses to Aintree. The original layout of the track had mini National fences designed to introduce horses to the type of fences seen on the Grand National Course itself. However they were never all that popular with trainers and fields over the course tended to be small. At the time Aintree staged NH only meetings in December and January. After the mid 1960s when only the National meeting took place at Aintree the Mildmay course was only used once a year for a 2 mile Novices 'Chase called the Mildmay Novices 'Chase. A 2m Novices 'Chase is still run at Aintree on Grand National Day now a Grade 1 race called the Maghull Novices 'Chase. The mini National fences were replaced by conventional birch Steeplechase fences in 1975 the year in which flat racing ceased at Aintree. In 1990 the layout of the Mildmay Course was changed.
P.G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jee ...
cited Mildmay as "very much the type" of the character of
Bertie Wooster Bertram Wilberforce Wooster is a fictional character in the comedic Jeeves stories created by British author P. G. Wodehouse. An amiable English gentleman and one of the "idle rich", Bertie appears alongside his valet, Jeeves, whose intelligenc ...
,Archived a
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and th
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but as the first Bertie Wooster stories appeared in 1916, when Mildmay was only seven, he cannot have been the inspiration as is sometimes claimed.


References


Sources

* Roger Mortimer, ''Anthony Mildmay'', MacGibbon & Kee, 1956.


Footnotes


External links


Newsreel footage
of Mildmay winning the Hunt Chase in 1949 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mildmay, Anthony Bingham, 2nd Baron 1909 births 1950 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Sportspeople from Devon People educated at Eton College People educated at St Cyprian's School Welsh Guards officers British Army personnel of World War II Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English jockeys British racehorse owners and breeders St John family