British racing has lost one of its greatest figures with the passing of former champion jockey Joe Mercer OBE at the age of 86.
Joseph Mercer was one of two brothers, born in Bradford in Yorkshire, who lit up Britain's apprentice ranks in the decade after the Second World War. The elder brother Emmanuel 'Manny' Mercer served his apprenticeship in Newmarket with George Colling and created such a good impression (most obviously by riding the 100/1 winner of the 1947 Lincolnshire Handicap, Jockey Treble, aged only 17) that Major Fred Sneyd, who trained at Wantage in Oxfordshire and who had already produced the great jockeys (and brothers) Eph and Doug Smith, wrote to Mercer's father to ask, “Are there any more like him at home?”. Mr Mercer jumped at the chance to send his younger son south to be indentured to Major Sneyd.
Apprenticeships were hard work in those days, particularly under the stewardship of a martinet such as Major Sneyd, and Joe Mercer's apprenticeship featured unrelenting hard work with very little money to show for it. He started, aged 13, on half-a-crown (12.5p) a week and was still earning that sum when he rode his first winner, Eldoret, three years later at Bath in September 1950. He actually sometimes did not even earn that much as he was fined sixpence (2.5p) every time he fell off.
Mercer's wages had risen to 10 shillings (50p) a week by the end of his seven-year apprenticeship. What was most relevant, though, was that by then he was well on the way to a career such as money couldn't buy. As an apprentice he had ridden nearly 200 winners, had been champion apprentice twice (in 1952 and '53, in the latter year setting a record total of 61 wins) and had become a rare example of an apprentice to win a Classic, courtesy of the victory of Ambiguity (GB) (Big Game {GB}), owned by Lord Astor and trained by Bob Colling, in the Oaks in 1953. It would be another 29 years until another apprentice (Billy Newnes) won a British Classic, taking the Oaks in 1982 for his boss Henry Candy on Time Charter (Ire) (Saritamer).
Tragically, Manny Mercer's career was a great one (he rode two Classic winners and finished in the upper reaches of the jockeys' table throughout the 1950s) but not a long one: he died instantly from head injuries when his mount slipped on her way to the start before the Red Deer S. at Ascot in September 1959. He was aged only 29. Happily, his younger brother was able to carry the family's baton with the greatest distinction, remaining among the very top tier of British jockeys for 30 years.
Ambiguity had been trained at West Ilsley in Berkshire, whither Bob Colling had moved from Newmarket in 1949 to train for Lord Astor. Joe Mercer, although still apprenticed to Major Sneyd, was appointed the stable's jockey in 1953, a position which he held until 1976. By this time, Major Dick Hern had taken over as trainer (following Colling's retirement at the end of the 1962 season) and the property was now owned by Sir Michael Sobell and his son-in-law Arnold (later Lord) Weinstock. To widespread consternation, Sobell and Weinstock decided in the autumn of 1976 that it was time to replace Mercer with a younger man, appointing Willie Carson to the position.
At this point, Mercer was aged 42 and was widely regarded as the greatest jockey then riding in Great Britain who had never been champion. He had enjoyed Classic success in the Oaks, the St Leger (twice), the 2000 Guineas, the 1000 Guineas, Irish 2000 Guineas, Irish Derby, Irish St Leger and, memorably, in the Prix de Diane in 1974 when he and HM The Queen's great filly Highclere (GB) (Queen's Hussar {GB}) had followed up their victory in the 1000 Guineas. Most notably, he had ridden the horse whom many regarded as the Horse of the Century: he had ridden the Dick Hern-trained 1971 2000 Guineas hero Brigadier Gerard (GB) (Queen's Hussar {GB}) in all his races.
Sobell and Weinstock may have felt at the time that Mercer's talents were past their best, but nobody else did. In particular, Henry Cecil clearly didn't, hiring Mercer as his stable jockey. Nor did former champion trainer Peter Walwyn, who signed up Mercer, by then in the second half of his 40s, during a remarkable jockeys' merry-go-round in the autumn of 1980, triggered by Lester Piggott's decision to sever his ties with Vincent O'Brien. Walwyn's jockey Pat Eddery went to O'Brien at Ballydoyle; Mercer (who had lost the support of some of Cecil's owners) went to Walwyn at Seven Barrows in Lambourn; and Piggott went to Cecil at Warren Place in Newmarket.
Mercer's relatively short period as stable jockey to Henry Cecil contained many of his finest hours. He was obviously never going to ride another horse as great as Brigadier Gerard, but for Cecil he rode one who could be mentioned in the same breath: the mighty Kris (GB) (Sharpen Up). He also enjoyed rode two more Classic triumphs, taking the 1000 Guineas in 1979 on One In A Million (Ire) (Rarity {GB}) and the St Leger in 1980 on Light Cavalry (GB), a son, fittingly, of Brigadier Gerard. He also rode such top older horses as the 1978 G1 Eclipse S. winner Gunner B (GB) (Royal Gunner) and the outstanding stayer Le Moss (Ire) (Le Levanstell {Ire}) on whom he won the G1 Gold Cup at Ascot in 1980. Mercer had previously won the Gold Cup in 1967 on the Derrick Candy-trained Parbury (GB) (Pardal {Fr}).
Even more notable than any individual winner whom Mercer rode for Cecil was the fact that he finally achieved the highest accolade of them all. In 1979 he enjoyed his greatest season, easily outstripping his previous best seasonal total (115 wins the previous year) when becoming champion jockey with 164 wins, 22 clear of runner-up Willie Carson. At 45, he was not the oldest champion jockey (both Sir Gordon Richards and Scobie Breasley had topped the table at a greater age) but was the oldest to secure the title for a first time. It was widely regarded as a fitting honour for a jockey viewed as the most technically perfect (more so than Piggott) of his generation, a master tactician and the ultimate professional. At the end of the year came the icing on the cake: he was awarded an OBE.
Although spending his final five seasons riding for Peter Walwyn, Joe Mercer's greatest triumphs in that period came on outside rides. He won the St Leger for his old boss Dick Hern and former patron Jakie Astor in 1980. Shergar (Ire) (Great Nephew {GB}) was the hot favourite but Hern, undaunted, saddled two runners. Willie Carson elected to ride Lady Beaverbrook's Bustomi (GB) so Mercer was booked for Cut Above (GB) (High Top {GB}) and the pair landed a shock victory at 28/1. Bustomi, incidentally, was a son of Bustino (GB) (Busted {GB}) on whom Mercer had won the St Leger for Major Hern and Lady Beaverbrook in 1974 before riding the gallant horse into second place behind Grundy (GB) (Great Nephew {GB}) in the 'Race of the Century', the 1975 G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Diamond S. at Ascot.
Mercer had previously won the 'King George', Britain's premier weight-for-age race, on Brigadier Gerard in 1972 and he won it again in 1983. Billy Newnes had been badly injured in a fall on Henry Candy's gallops near Wantage the previous week so the mount on the previous year's Oaks winner Time Charter became available. Mercer was booked by the trainer, for whose father he had ridden many winners during the 1960s, and the partnership landed a famous victory, beating a stellar field which included the recent Classic winners Sun Princess (Ire) (Sun Prince {Ire}) and Caerleon (Nijinsky {Can}).
Joe Mercer finally called time on his great career in the autumn of 1985 at the age of 51. Fittingly, he recorded his final big win on his final ride, guiding the John Dunlop-trained Bold Rex (Fr) (Rex Magna {Fr}) to victory in the November Handicap at Doncaster on the last day of the season. It was his 2,810th British triumph. The November Handicap is not the race which it was, but it has been won by some great horses over the years and has seen some very popular winners. Arguably none, however, has returned to as heartfelt a round of applause as that which greeted the (presumably bemused) Bold Rex.
After his retirement from the saddle, Joe Mercer, a man who commanded the respect of the entire racing community, continued to put his great racing brain to good use in his role as racing manager for Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid al Maktoum, a role which he held for 19 years until the latter's death in January 2006.
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