Sam Arnull (c. 1760 – 1800) was a British

flat racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

jockey of the 18th century. He won the inaugural running of Britain's foremost flat race, The Derby, on Diomed, one of the most influential horses in

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

history, and won again on a further three occasions.

Career

Arnull hailed from a family of jockeys that dominated British horse racing in the latter part of the 18th century and early 19th. He was the younger brother of

John Arnull John Arnull (1753-1815) was an English flat racing jockey. He was the first man to ride five Epsom Derby winners and a member of the dominant race riding family in England in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. Career Arnull was jock ...

and uncle of Bill Arnull. Between them, the family won twelve Derbies in the race's formative years. He himself won four of them – 1780 (Diomed), 1782 ( Assassin), 1787 ( Sir Peter Teazle), 1798 ( Sir Harry) – as well as an Oaks on Hermione in 1794. Such was their dominance that " Newmarket

he home of British racing He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

without an Arnull would ... have seemed strange" Sam was described as a "quiet and unassuming man" and was a man of some means, being able to ride out at

hunts Hunt's is the name of a brand of preserved tomato products owned by Conagra Brands. The company was founded in 1888, in Sebastopol, California, as the Hunt Bros. Fruit Packing Co., by Joseph and William Hunt. The brothers relocated to nearby San ...

on well-turned out horses, with a well-dressed groom. He and his family were known for being more trustworthy than other jockeys of the day. Although his brother won more Derbies, Sam was perhaps the better of the two; when he died in 1800 he "is supposed not to have left a better" His dedication to the sport was certainly undoubted. For example, in spite of the fact he found that "wasting was a sore burden ... eperformed the unrivalled feat of knocking off 7 lbs in a single day" to meet the weight for a horse he wanted to ride.

1780 Derby

The inaugural running of the Derby was low key compared to the event which it was to become. At the time it merited but a small notice in the London Evening Post of 6 May 1780 but in retrospect was said to have "fairly caught hold on the public imagination". Arnull is said to have been seen going to post wearing: His main rival in the race was Colonel O'Kelly's Boudrow, also recorded as Budroo, who came in second. Diomed, owned by Sir Charles Bunbury, won at odds of 6/4. The breeches that Arnull wore on the day now hang inside the Jockey Club. At

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

the following year, suspicion turned on Arnull when Diomed lost to what was considered "a very far inferior horse", losing Bunbury a large sum of money. The defeat sickened Bunbury and was a factor in Diomed's retirement.

Death

Arnull died in Newmarket in 1800. His death notice declared that "he is supposed not to leave a better behind him."

Major wins

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey ...

– (4) – '' Diomed (1780)'', '' Assassin (1782)'', '' Sir Peter Teazle (1787)'', '' Sir Harry (1798)'' * Epsom Oaks – '' Hermione (1794)''

References

Bibliography