Alec Taylor Sr.
Alec Taylor Sr. (1821–1894) was a British racehorse trainer[1] who in 1870 established the famous Manton training stables on the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire, one of the finest training centres in the country.[2][3] He was considered one of the best trainers of his era.[2] He won a total of 12 classics, ending in 1887 with Reve d'Or at the Oaks and 1000 Guineas[1] and in a career that lasted about fifty years, Alec Taylor trained winners of numerous other important English races.[citation needed]
Career
Taylor was the son of Thomas Taylor of "Bretby in Suffolk"[4] who trained horses for Lord Chesterfield.[1] Alec began working as a trainer for Sir Joseph Henry Hawley, 3rd Baronet and John Stanley[clarification needed] in 1848 at Fyfield, Wiltshire, just west of Marlborough on the old Bath Road. He began winning in 1851 with Aphrodite in the 1000 Guineas and Teddington in the Derby,[1][5][6] both owned by Hawley. It was the first of what would be eleven wins in the five British Classics.[citation needed]
After these wins Sir Joseph Hawley left and Taylor continued as private trainer for John Stanley until 1856 when Stanley retired. This left Taylor a tenant at Fyfield to continue as a public trainer. George Brudenell-Bruce, 2nd Marquess of Ailesbury (1804-1878) of nearby Tottenham House, Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, sent some horses to Taylor which soon resulted in St Albans winning the 1860 Chester Cup and St Leger. In 1864 Palmerston came second in the Derby and in 1866 Savernake also came second in the Derby for the same owner. This success attracted the attention of the Scottish millionaire William Stuart Stirling-Crawfurd (1819-1883) ("Craw"), a property developer in Glasgow and coal mine owner,[2][3] who took his horses to Fyfield having been double crossed by his previous trainer. In 1868 Taylor sent Craw's Moslem to dead-heat for the 2,000 Guineas.
By 1870, with the patronage and financial backing of Stirling-Crawfurd, Taylor acquired a large estate at Manton on the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire.[2][3] The new Manton Down stables, built to Taylor's design and comprising very spacious loose-boxes around a large central courtyard, were adjacent to the Fyfield Down gallops which Taylor had used and developed since he arrived at Fyfield in 1848. Manton Stables were considered one of Britain's "most famous and prestigious training facilities" and were described as:[3]
- 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.
In 1873 Stirling-Crawfurd's Gang Forward won the 2000 Guineas race, the first of Taylor's eight classic winners from Manton.[2][3] Following Stirling-Crawfurd's death in 1883 his widow the dowager Duchess of Montrose, a formidable character and successful owner, moved her horses to Sefton Lodge in Newmarket, named after her husband's Derby winner. As women were then disallowed from owning racehorses, she used the pseudonym "Mr Manton", by which she became well known. In 1884 the Duke of Beaufort moved his horses to Manton under Taylor's care.[7]
Demanding employer
He had a reputation for punishing his employees. A former employee of Taylor remarked: A breakfast at Manton had consisted of tea, bread, and cuts from a riding crop, with the only second helpings coming from the crop.[3] In 1863 Taylor's jockey Eli Drew died following a fall at Brighton Racecourse aged 21. Drew had arrived at Fyfield aged 11 and Taylor. his wife and the other apprentices and lads were the only family he had. He was a promising young jockey and had won a number of races for Taylor including a Caesarewich. Alec Taylor constructed a Lych Gate to Fyfield Churchyard. The woodwork had rotted by the 1930s and had to be removed but the two stone gateposts still bear the inscription 'In Memory of Eli Drew'
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)
Succession
Alec Taylor Sr. died in 1894[1] and was buried in Fyfield Churchyard, his gravestone being situated just west of the Church Tower, later joined by other family members. Following his death, his sons Tom Taylor and Alec Taylor Jr., by his first and second wives respectively, ran Manton from 1895.[1][3] Alec Taylor, Jr., known as the "Wizard of Manton",[1][8] became a successful trainer, and was reputed not to heavily train or race young horses until they were two years of age, unlike his father who is said to have galloped his yearlings.[9]
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e f g 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 e "History of Manton". Brian Meehan. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g 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.
- ^ Location unclear. Obituary, South Wales Daily News, 15 Sept 1894 [1]
- ^ Edward Spencer (1902). "Sir Joseph's Luck". Fores's Sporting Notes and Sketches. Vol. XIX. London: Messrs. Fores, Piccadilly, W. p. 264. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
- ^ Thomas Henry Taunton (1888). "Teddington". Portraits of Celebrated Racehorses of the Past and Present Centuries: In Strictly Chronological Order, Commencing in 1702 and Ending in 1870 Together with Their Respective Pedigrees and Performances Recorded in Full. Vol. IV. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington. p. 74. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
- ^ Obituary, South Wales Daily News, 15 Sept 1894
- ^ "Alec Taylor (1862 - 1943)". The National Horseracing Museum. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ Vamplew