Philip Blacker (b. 1949) was a jockey until his retirement in 1982. Since then, he has been a sculptor of sporting arts. He is the son of General Sir

Cecil Blacker General (United Kingdom), General Sir Cecil Hugh Blacker (4 June 1916 – 18 October 2002) was a senior British Army officer and a former Adjutant-General to the Forces. Military career Educated at Wellington College, Berkshire, Wellington Col ...

Career

Jockey

Blacker became a professional jockey at the start of the 1969/1970 season and remained so for 13 years, during which time he rode 340 winners. He is a Member of the

Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree Racecourse, Aintree, Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom ...

, and has sat on various committees including the British Horseracing Authorities Security and Investigations Committee. In 1973 Blacker finished fourth on

Spanish Steps The Spanish Steps () in Rome, Italy, climb a steep slope between Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, dominated by the Trinità dei Monti church, at the top. The monumental stairway of 135 steps is linked with the Trinit� ...

in the first

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 ...

won by Red Rum. In 1977 Blacker finished seventh on Happy Ranger to Red Rum, winning his third and final Grand National. Blacker said that 1982 was "my one big chance to win the race". However, Blacker had taken a ride at Ludlow the day before the Grand National where he fell and broke his arm. In his absence, Royal Mail was ridden by another jockey and the horse fell at Becher's Brook fence. "That horse needed a rider that knew him and on that day he didn't", commented Blacker afterwards, describing the event as "one of the biggest regrets of my life". Amongst the 340 races won by Blacker were the: 1981 Welsh Champion Hurdle (Pollardstown), 1980 Aintree Hurdle (Pollardstown), 1980 Whitbread Gold Cup (Royal Mail), and two races at the 1979 Cheltenham Festival; the

Stayers' Hurdle The Stayers' Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain. It is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 m ...

(Lighter) and the Triumph Hurdle (Pollardstown).

Sculptor

Blacker is considered as "one of the most important names" in 20th century sporting art by Stella A. Walker. A former art student prior to his days as a jockey, in 1987, he produced his first work: a life-size sculpture of Red Rum at

Aintree Racecourse Aintree Racecourse is a horse racing, racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England, near to Liverpool. The racecourse is the venue for the Grand National steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase, which takes place annually in April over three da ...

, unveiled one year later by the

Princess Royal Princess Royal is a substantive title, title customarily (but not automatically) awarded by British monarchs to their eldest daughters. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal famil ...

. He has produced numerous works across the UK and abroad; including racecourse bronzes of Best Mate at

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

, Generous at

Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

, Persian Punch at Newmarket, Desert Orchid at Kempton Park, Makybe Diva at Flemington in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred that, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. After being retired from racing, he became one of the most successful Stallion, sires of the 2 ...

at Woodbine in Canada and an 18-foot stallion in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. In 2014 he sculpted a series of bronze

friezes In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neithe ...

featuring a number houses in a Thompson's Gallery exhibit ''Farewell, Leicester Square'' commemoration of the centenary of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, which he says were based on the poetry of the era. In January 2017 he produced a limited edition of 400 small bronze replicas of the Red Rum statue at Aintree, to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Red Rum's third Grand National victory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blacker, Philip 1949 births Living people English jockeys English sculptors