William Clift (1762–1840), born Wentworth, South Yorkshire, was a British

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

. He won the first runnings of both the

1,000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...

and

2,000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year at ...

and was the first jockey to win all five of the British Classics.

Early life

Clift was born at Wentworth Park,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, on the estate of the Marquess of Rockingham. As a young boy, he worked as a

shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...

on the estate. His start in racing came during one of the Marquess's house parties, when the host decided to organise a pony race. As the race was short of riders, Clift was conscripted to ride for a Mr Fowlston. Clift won the race convincingly and Rockingham invited him to join his private stable, under the guidance of trainer Christopher Scaife. When Scaife moved the stable to Newmarket, Clift moved too.

Career

Clift rode for many wealthy patrons, including the

Duke of Dorset Duke of Dorset was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1720 for the politician Lionel Sackville, 7th Earl of Dorset. History The Sackville family descended from Sir Richard Sackville. His only surviving son, Thomas Sa ...

, Duke of Grafton and Duke of Portland. His first Classic win came for Sir Ferdinand Poole on

Waxy Waxy may refer to: * a substance related to wax * colloquially for a waxworm (particularly used by anglers) * Waxy (band), an American stoner rock band * Waxy (horse), a thoroughbred racehorse * WAXY (AM), a radio station (790 AM) licensed to serv ...

in the 1793

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

. Seven years later, he got a second Derby win on

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...

, although he missed the

St. Leger The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a d ...

win on the same horse. In 1803, he won a third Derby on Ditto. He won the first of two Oaks for the Duke of Grafton on

Pelisse A pelisse was originally a short fur-trimmed jacket which hussar light-cavalry soldiers from the 17th century onwards usually wore hanging loose over the left shoulder, ostensibly to prevent sword cuts. The name also came to refer to a fashionab ...

in 1804 and the second on

Morel ''Morchella'', the true morels, is a genus of edible sac fungi closely related to anatomically simpler cup fungi in the order Pezizales (division Ascomycota). These distinctive fungi have a honeycomb appearance due to the network of ridges with ...

in 1808. Clift notably won the inaugural runnings of both the Newmarket Classics – the

1,000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...

and

. On both occasions he was riding for Christopher Wilson. He returned to his roots for his 1807 St. Leger victory, riding for the

Earl Fitzwilliam Earl Fitzwilliam (or FitzWilliam) was a title in both the Peerage of Ireland and the Peerage of Great Britain held by the head of the Fitzwilliam family (later Wentworth-Fitzwilliam). History The Fitzwilliams acquired extensive holdings in the ...

, who had inherited the Wentworth estate from his uncle. It was also the only Classic he won for his old trainer, Christopher Scaife. He continued to ride on a retainer from the Earl, before later becoming trainer to him, with his son Thomas as assistant. His last classic came on

Tiresias In Greek mythology, Tiresias (; grc, Τειρεσίας, Teiresías) was a blind prophet of Apollo in Thebes, famous for clairvoyance and for being transformed into a woman for seven years. He was the son of the shepherd Everes and the nymph ...

in 1819. On retirement, he had three pensions – £30 a year from the Earl Fitzwilliam, £50 a year from the Duke of Portland and £50 from Christopher Wilson. Aged 80, he would walk from Newmarket to

Bury St. Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A ...

and back, "just to give my legs a stretch".

Riding style

Clift has been described as "a rider of singularly little polish... hopunished his mounts severely and would race neck and neck from start to finish with anything else that wanted to make the running" He "doffed his cap to no man" and, once, when asked by the Duke of Dorset what he thought of the horse he had just ridden, he replied, "You see I won; that's enough for you!"

Classic race victories

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 ...

1,000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...

– (2) – ''

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

(1814),

Filly by Selim The Filly by Selim (1812 – 26 May 1815) was an unnamed British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the second running of the classic 1000 Guineas at Newmarket Racecourse in 1815. The filly was killed after falling in the Oaks Stakes, her only o ...

(1815)'' *

– (2) – '' Wizard (1809), Interpreter (1818)'' * Epsom Oaks – (2) – ''

(1804),

(1808)'' *

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 o ...

– (5) – ''

(1793),

(1800), Ditto (1803),

Whalebone Baleen is a filter-feeding system inside the mouths of baleen whales. To use baleen, the whale first opens its mouth underwater to take in water. The whale then pushes the water out, and animals such as krill are filtered by the baleen and re ...

(1810),

(1819)'' *

St. Leger The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a d ...

– (2) – ''

Paulina Paulina or Paullina (, ) was a name shared by three relatives of the Roman Emperor Hadrian: his mother, his elder sister and his niece. Mother of Hadrian Domitia Paulina or Paullina, Domitia Paulina Major or Paulina Major, (''Major'' Latin fo ...

(1807), Octavian (1810)''

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clift, Bill 1762 births 1840 deaths British jockeys Sportspeople from Yorkshire