Charles William Reginald Spares (1917 – 29 October 1958), also commonly known as Chuck Spares, was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), 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 ...

. Although predominantly a

National Hunt National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, Great Britain and Ireland. Jump Racing requires horses to jump over fences and ditches. In ...

jockey, his biggest victory came on the flat, when he won the 1951

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, more commonly known as the Derby and sometimes referred to as the Epsom Derby, is a Group races, Group 1 flat Horse racing, horse race in England open to three-year-old Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It is run at Ep ...

Arctic Prince Arctic Prince (1948–1969) was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and Horse breeding#Terminology, sire who was trained in England during a brief racing career which lasted from 1950 to 1951 and consisted of only five races. Arctic Prince ...

Career

Charlie Spares was born in 1917 in

Upton-upon-Severn Upton-upon-Severn (or Upton on Severn, etc. and locally simply Upton) is a small riverside town and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. Lying on the A4104 (formerly A440), the 2021 census recorded a population ...

, and became apprentice jockey to trainer Len Cundell at Chilton, Berkshire, riding his first victory on Penny-a-Liner at

Birmingham Racecourse Bromford Bridge Racecourse was a horse racing course in the Bromford area of Birmingham, England. Its official name was 'Birmingham'. It staged flat and national hunt racing. History The earliest recorded horse-race in Birmingham according t ...

on 31 October 1932. In 1936, he switched codes to ride over hurdles. He gained a big victory on the flat in the 1944 November Handicap on Kerry Piper and also won the final race run in wartime Britain - on a horse called Wisecrack in a maiden race at Stockton on 1 September 1945, the evening before the

Japanese surrender The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, ending the war. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was incapable of condu ...

. After the war, he rode initially for Ernie Davey's stable in Malton, Yorkshire, and then for Willie Stephenson in

Royston, Hertfordshire Royston is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Hertfordshire, District of North Hertfordshire and county of Hertfordshire in England. It is situated on the Prime meridian (Greenwich), Greenwich Meridian, which brush ...

, for whom he rode under both codes. For Stephenson, he won the biggest race of career when he rode

in the

, winning at

odds In probability theory, odds provide a measure of the probability of a particular outcome. Odds are commonly used in gambling and statistics. For example for an event that is 40% probable, one could say that the odds are or When gambling, o ...

of 28/1 in a field of thirty-three. In the race, the favourite, Ki Ming, disputed the lead with Mystery IX as the field approached

Tattenham Corner Tattenham Corner is in north Surrey, England, the name is principally associated with Epsom Racecourse. The Tattenham Corner railway station, railway station of the same name is in the Tattenhams ward of Reigate and Banstead Borough. Location ...

, at which point Arctic Prince was still moving through the field. Arctic Prince overtook Mystery IX to take the lead early in the straight and pulled clear to win by six lengths from Sybil's Nephew for what was reported to be "one of the easiest triumphs in the recent history of the race." Spares explained that "I took the lead and then it was all over." With a total prize of £22,625, it was the most valuable race ever run in England at the time. The following year was numerically Spares' most successful, winning 21 winners from 193 rides, and in 1953 he won the

Sussex Stakes The Sussex Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), a ...

on King Of The Tudors. However, his association with Stephenson ended the same year, his health began to fail and he quit riding. A comeback in the spring of 1958, with the support of trainer Harry Blackshaw in

Middleham Middleham ( ; meaning "middle ''ham''", i.e. "middle village") is a market town and civil parish in the district and county of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, on the south side of the valley, upstream fr ...

, was unsuccessful, and he died there, aged 41, on 28 October 1958. He left a widow and three sons, one of whom, also known as Chuck, was a racehorse trainer, best known for training Ascot Hurdle winner Ibn Majed.

Major wins

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

- ''

(1951)'' *

Sussex Stakes The Sussex Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), a ...

- ''King Of The Tudors (1953)''

References

External links

1951 Derby from Pathe News

Bibliography

* * * * 1917 births 1958 deaths British jockeys {{UK-horseracing-bio-stub

Career

Major wins

See also

References

External links

Bibliography