1. Thomas Aldcroft was a British jockey who won each of the five British classics across his career.
13 Facts About Tom Aldcroft
1. 2.
Tom Aldcroft succeeded Lye, and quickly won a series of Classics for Dawson.
3.
The win was marred by a rumour that Tom Aldcroft had weighed out for his ride with a whip weighing seven pounds which he then switched for a virtually weightless one, thereby giving him a seven-pound advantage.
4.
Tom Aldcroft was the first choice jockey of owner Lord Glasgow, and in 1864, Tom Aldcroft won the 2,000 Guineas for Glasgow on General Peel.
5.
Lord Glasgow took issue with this defeat and as a result, Tom Aldcroft lost the ride, with John Wells taking the mount in the St Leger.
6.
In one such incident, Glasgow accused Tom Aldcroft of being in the pay of bookmaker John Jackson, without justification, and Tom Aldcroft quit racing and retired to his home in Newmarket.
7.
Tom Aldcroft was invited back into racing by trainer Joseph Lawson, who trained at Bedford Lodge in Newmarket, with a ride on the well-regarded horse Miss Foote, but Aldcroft no longer had the confidence and was unable to mount a horse.
8.
Besides his Classic victories, Tom Aldcroft had won the Goodwood Cup, Queen's Vase, Northumberland Plate and Cesarewitch Handicap amongst other big races.
9.
Tom Aldcroft was said to have fine hands and wonderful patience.
10.
Tom Aldcroft's well-timed finish was compared to greats including Frank Butler, Jim Robinson, and Sam Chifney Jr.
11.
Tom Aldcroft was not so tall, and rode at 5st 7lb during his apprenticeship, but weight was a problem, with some attributing his departure from racing to increasing weight, rather than a dispute with Lord Glasgow.
12.
Tom Aldcroft married Jane Cartwright, daughter of the jockey who rode Beeswing, and lived with her in Newmarket at Grafton House on the High Street.
13.
Tom Aldcroft was buried in Newmarket Cemetery and his funeral was attended by contemporaries including James Goater and John Osborne Jr, as well as the new generation of jockeys including Fred Archer, and trainers including Mathew Dawson.