My favourite and most famous relative is Fred Archer who, as any horseracing fan would know was one of the most successful jockeys this country has ever known. Fred Archer was born in 1857, the son of a steeplechase jockey William Archer. William Archer’s brother was my great-great grandfather. In his short life, he became one of the most successful jockeys ever, riding 2,748 winners from 8,004 races, giving a remarkable average of a win every third ride.
At the age of 11 Fred Archer was an apprentice to Matthew Dawson at Heath House Stables, Newmarket, and rode his first winner when he was only 12 years old in a steeplechase at Bangor, weighing in at only 4 stone 11 lbs. His first success on the flat came in 1870 aged only 13 but his career really took off in 1873 when he had 107 wins from 422 rides.
Fred Archer became champion jockey at the age of 17 in 1874 and he retained this title for the next twelve years until his death in 1886. He became a great celebrity of the time and rode for some of the most influential and wealthy owners such as Lord Falmouth, Lord Rosebery, the Duke of Beaufort and the Duke of Westminster. In all he achieved 21 classic victories, being 5 Derby wins, 6 St Legers, 4 Oaks, 4 2,000 Guineas and 2 1,000 Guineas.
Fred Archer was 5ft 11 ins tall and had a constant battle with his weight, so much so that he commissioned a special medicine to help him keep his weight down. This medicine was apparently quite revolting and became known as Archer’s Mixture. Unfortunately tragedy befell him in 1884 when he lost both his newly born son and his wife in the same year. He never recovered from these losses and, together with his constant battle against increasing weight, took his own life, in a fit of depression on the 6th November 1886 at the young age of 29.
Fred Archer is buried in Newmarket cemetery in the same grave as his wife, daughter and son. The Jockey Club, who also have at their headquarters a collection of memorabilia, including the pistol with which he shot himself, immaculately maintains the grave. The legacy of Fred Archer’s name has been handed down through the generations. His father was a William, my great grandfather’s name was William Frederick, my grandfather was William Frederick and my middle name is William, unfortunately my mother refused to be called Fred.