John Daley (jockey)

Hermit with Jockey Up at Epsom, 1867

Daley was born in Newmarket, Suffolk in 1846. His father was a racehorse trainer for Sir Robert Clifton and others.[1]

His first winner was Renown, carrying 5st 6lbs, at the first Newmarket Spring Meeting of 1857. He received the patronage of owners including Baron Meyer de Rothschild.[1]

He won four races at Royal Ascot in 1860 - the Queen's Stand Stakes and Fern Hill Stakes on Queen of the Vale, a £100 Plate, and the Coronation Stakes on Allington. In 1861, he won the Goodwood Stakes on Elcho for Lord Coventry.[1]

He was booked to ride Hermit in the 1867 Derby after the horse had broken a blood vessel in a training gallop and the intended jockey Henry Custance was released to ride The Rake. Daley was paid £100, with the promise of another £100 if he could get the horse placed, £3,000 if he won. Daley brought Hermit for a late run, on the orders of trainer Captain Machell, and won by a neck from Marksman in the final strides. Two days later he added the Oaks on Hippia for Rothschild.[1]

By early manhood, Daley was struggling to make the weights required. He had a big frame and was taller than Fred Archer. In 1870, it appeared his career was coming to an end. In a final major victory, he won that year's 2,000 Guineas on Macgregor, but he was 1lb overweight for the ride and would have been too weak to ride a close finish.[1]

He died around 1890.[1]

Great Britain

• 2,000 Guineas Stakes - Macgregor (1870)
• Epsom Derby - Hermit (1867)
• Epsom Oaks - Hippia (1867)

• Mortimer, Roger; Onslow, Richard; Willett, Peter (1978). Biographical Encyclopedia of British Flat Racing. Macdonald and Jane’s. ISBN 0-354-08536-0.