Alec Taylor Sr.
Alec Taylor, Sr. (1821-1894) was a successful British Thoroughbred horse trainer[1] running Manton stables, "one of the finest training centres".[2][3] He was "considered one of the best trainers of his era."[2]
Personal life and family
His father, Thomas Taylor, was a trainer to Lord Chesterfield.[1]
Alec Taylor, Sr. died in 1894.[1] Following his death, his sons Tom and Alec, by different mothers, ran Manton Stables beginning 1895.[1][3] Alec Taylor, Jr. became a successful trainer, and was known as the Wizard of Manton.[1][4][nb 1]
Career
He first began working as a trainer for Sir Joseph Hawley in 1848 at Fyfield, Wiltshire.[citation needed] He began winning in 1851 with the Aphrodite in the One Thousand Guineas and Teddington in the Derby.[1] It was the first of what would be eleven wins in the five British Classic Races.[citation needed]
By 1870, Taylor had seen the construction of Manton Stables in Wiltshire, outside of Marlborough, with the financial backing of Stirling Crawford, who was a property developer in Glasgow and was one of the owners of the horses that Taylor trained.[2][3] Manton Stables were considered one of Britain's "most famous and prestigious training facilities" and were described as:
Those fortunate enough to visit the Manton establishment cannot fail to be impressed by the completeness of every detail. The buildings possess a singularly attractive and quiet beauty. [There are] spacious paddocks, splendid stables, and boxes [stalls] unsurpassed for size and abundance of light and air.[3]
In 1873 the Gand Forward won 2000 Guineas race, the first of his eight classic winners from Manton.[2][3] He won a total of 12 classics, which ended in 1887 with Reve d'Or at Oaks and One Thousand Guineas.[1] In a career that lasted approximately fifty years, Alec Taylor trained winners of numerous other important English races.[citation needed]
He had a reputation for punishing his employees. An previous employee of Taylor remarked:
A breakfast at Manton had consisted of tea, bread, and custs from a riding crop, with the only second helpings coming from the crop.[3]
Classic Race wins
Taylor's wins in the British Classic Races include:
- Moslem (1868), Gang Forward (1873)
- Aphrodite (1851), Thebais (1881), Reve d'Or (1887)
- Teddington (1851), Sefton (1878)
- Thebais (1881), Reve d'Or (1887)
- St. Albans (1860), Craig Millar (1875)
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Wray Vamplew (2005). Encyclopedia of British Horse Racing. Taylor & Francis. pp. 305–306. ISBN 978-0-7146-5356-3. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ a b c d "History of Manton". Brian Meehan. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f James C. Nicholson (1 April 2013). Never Say Die: A Kentucky Colt, the Epsom Derby, and the Rise of the Modern Thoroughbred Industry. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 111–114. ISBN 978-0-8131-4167-1. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
- ^ "Alec Taylor (1862 - 1943)". The National Horseracing Museum. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
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