Tommy Skelton
Thomas Skelton, known as Tommy, was a jockey who rode the winner of the Grand National 1886 aboard Old Joe. In his first 4 attempts to win the race he achieved third place, then first, second and fourth in 4 attempts before being unplaced on 2 subsequent attempts. The silks Skelton wore to victory in 1886 are today in the possession of Aintree Racecouse and are occasionally displayed in the weighing room bar on Grand National day.
Skelton's actual identity is a matter of some debate. It is most commonly believed among racing historians that Skelton was born in Lichfield on November 21, 1856 and apprenticed to Tom Stevens at Chilton, Oxfordshire in Berkshire. Described by contemporaries as 'a good flat jockey' he also rode under National Hunt rules where he achieved his greatest success. He was very light and in the words of one authority "although always thought of as a somewhat delicate man to be engaged in the hazardous trade of jump jockey, his determination and flair had long been acknowledged".[1] Tom Skelton also rode winners of the Grand Sefton and the Lancashire Chase before losing an eye in a shooting accident near Newmarket in 1890, which effectively ended his riding career. From 1884 he also trained racehorses for over ten years, mostly near Newmarket but also at Headbourne Worthy and Hednesford. He then took an inn at Kidderminster. Skelton was arranging to return to live at Newmarket but died while visiting friends at Kentford close to that town on 27 November 1900.[2]
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