Frank "Titch" Mason (born Francis Mason, 4 April 1879 – 23 October 1969) was an English

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 ...

who was

British jump racing Champion Jockey In Great Britain's National Hunt racing, the title of champion jockey is bestowed on the rider who has the most wins during a racing season. From its inception in 1900 to 1925, the award was given to the jockey who had the most winners during a ...

six times between 1901 and 1907, winning the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it ...

in 1905 on the horse Kirkland.

Biography

Born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, Mason grew up in nearby

Wavertree Wavertree is a district and suburb of Liverpool, in the county of Merseyside, England. It is a Ward (country subdivision), ward of Liverpool City Council, and its population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 14,772. Located to ...

before moving with his parents to

the Wirral The Wirral Peninsula (), known locally as the Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide, and is bounded by the Dee Estuary to the west, the Mersey Estuary to the east, and Liverpool ...

. In 1891, he was

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

d to the riding stables of trainer John Gubbins in

Telscombe Telscombe is a town and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. It consists of three distinct settlements, separated from each other by an open area of downland called Telscombe Tye. Telscombe village is a small village on ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. Aged 14, he rode his first winner at

The Curragh The Curragh ( ; ) is a flat open plain in County Kildare, Ireland. This area is well known for horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is on the edge of Kildare town, beside the Irish National Stud#The Japanese Gardens, Japane ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

on 18 April 1893. He was Irish jump racing Champion Jockey in 1900. "Mason, Frank", ''Jockeypedia''
Retrieved 4 March 2019 In Britain, he became one of the top jump jockeys of the era, and was Champion Jockey in 1901 (with 58 winners), 1902 (67 winners), 1904 (54 winners), 1905 (73 winners), 1906 (58 winners) and 1907 (59 winners). He rode five winners in a day on two occasions, at

Lingfield Lingfield can refer to: * Lingfield, County Durham, England, a village * Lingfield, Surrey, England, a village ** Lingfield Park Racecourse ** Lingfield Cricket Club, prominent in the 18th century ** Lingfield railway station, serving the villag ...

in 1903 and

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

in 1905. Also in 1905, he was paid £300 not to ride for two weeks before the Grand National, to ensure that he would be fit and free of injury. Riding on Kirkland, he won the race by three lengths. He also won the Grand Sefton Chase at

Aintree Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, northeast of Liverpool city centre. In 2011 the parish had a p ...

on three occasions (1898, 1902, 1908), the Stanley Chase (1899), the Champion Chase (1902), the Lancashire Chase (1905), the Imperial Cup (1910), and the

Welsh Grand National The Coral Welsh Grand National is a Premier Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Chepstow, Wales, over a distance of ...

(1910). He retired in 1913, but returned to the saddle in 1919, winning the Liverpool Hurdle. He broke his leg in a fall later that year, ending his career. In all he rode more than 720 winners. "Frank 'Titch' Mason", ''Old Wirral''
Retrieved 4 March 2019 After retiring, he lived at Moreton on the Wirral in a house named "Kirkland" after his Grand National winner. He invested some of his winnings in building many of the shop premises around Moreton Cross, adding the names of some of his winning horses to the frontages. He died at Moreton in 1969, aged 90. The following year, his daughter scattered his ashes at the start of the Grand National course at Aintree, in the presence of the owner, Mirabel Topham. "Tich Mason Funeral", ''British Universities Film and Video Council''
Retrieved 4 March 2019

References

External links

British Movietone
film of ashes being scattered at Aintree {{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Frank 1879 births 1969 deaths English jockeys Sportspeople from Liverpool Sportspeople from Wirral