William Raphael "Rae" Johnstone (13 April 1905 – 29 April 1964), was an Australian flat-race jockey. After enjoying considerable success in his native country, he relocated to Europe in 1932 and spent most of the rest of his life in France. He won twelve

British Classic Races The British Classics are five long-standing Group 1 horse races run during the traditional flat racing season. They are restricted to three-year-old horses and traditionally represent the pinnacle of achievement for racehorses against their ow ...

and two

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe () is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris over a distance ...

s. On his retirement in 1957 he was described as "one of the greatest international jockeys of modern times". He died of a heart attack in 1964.

Background

Rae Johnstone was born to Robert James Johnstone (a coalminer) and Elizabeth Johnstone (''nee'' Harvey) in 1905 in New Lambton, a suburb of

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle ( ; ), is a large Metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of City of Newcastle, Newcastle and Ci ...

. In later life he was somewhat evasive when talking about his origins, claiming that his original surname was Davies and on others that he was of Portuguese descent. There is some evidence, however, that he may have attempted to conceal the fact that he was of

Australian Aborigine Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 years ...

heritage. Early in his riding career he was nicknamed "Togo" after Admiral Togo on account of his dark complexion and "oriental" appearance: Johnstone reportedly found the name offensive.

Riding career

Johnstone began his riding career in Australia, winning his first race in 1920 at the age of 15. He had several brushes with the racing authorities and received a two-year ban in 1927 after he "conspired to lose a race". In 1931 he was the Champion Jockey in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and began to attract attention from abroad. By that time he had won more than 600 races in Australia and also ridden successfully in India. In the following year he travelled to France to take up a position as the retained jockey for

Pierre Wertheimer Pierre Wertheimer (8 January 1888 – 24 April 1965) was a French businessman, who co-founded Chanel with Coco Chanel. Early life Wertheimer was born 8 January 1888, the second of two sons, to Ernest Wertheimer and Mathilde Wertheimer (née Bol ...

and moved to England two years later to ride for Lord Glanely. He made an immediate impact by winning the

2000 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 (1.6 km) and scheduled to take place each yea ...

aboard

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

but was criticised for his tactics when finishing third on the same colt in the

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 ...

and returned to France shortly afterwards. In the following year he partnered the French-trained filly Mesa to win the

1000 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 ...

. In his early career Johnstone had been known to bet of his mounts, but gave up gambling on his second marriage in 1940. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Johnstone was rejected for military service and briefly went back to India, before resuming his riding career in France. In 1942 he was

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

by the occupying forces but returned to race-riding in late 1944. In 1945 he won the

on Nikellora. In the immediate post-war period Johnstone had great success riding French-trained horses in major British races. Between 1947 and 1956 he won the 1000 Guineas on Imprudence and Camaree, the Derby on My Love,

Galcador Galcador (1947–1970) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from autumn 1949 to June 1950 he ran four times and won three races. In 1950 he won England's most prestigious race, The Derby. He never raced after ...

and

Lavandin ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of perennial flowering plants in the sage family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World, primarily found across the drier, warmer regions of the Mediterranean, with an affin ...

, the

Epsom Oaks The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 ya ...

on Imprudence, Asmena and Sun Cap and 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 ...

Scratch Scratch or scratching may refer to: Science and technology * Scratch (programming language), an educational programming language developed by the MIT Media Lab * Scratch space, space on the hard disk drive that is dedicated for only temporary ...

and Talma. In France he won a second Arc de Triomphe on Sica Boy in 1954. Arguably the best horse he rode however was

Sayani Sayani (, also Romanized as Sāyānī; also known as Sīānī) is a village in Pir Sohrab Rural District, in the Central District of Chabahar County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran ...

on whom he won the

Cambridgeshire Handicap The Cambridgeshire Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile and 1 fur ...

in 1946. Johntone regarded his Derby win on My Love as his greatest achievement. He rode in the United States but did not enjoy the experience, commenting "There's no atmosphere. As far as I can make out, people go to races in America to eat sandwiches and hot dogs and to bet on a number".

Riding style

Johntone was known for his judgment of pace and mastery of waiting tactics. He acquired the nickname "The Crocodile" because "he comes from behind and eats you up". He was also reluctant to use the whip on horses who were already beaten, which led to accusations of a lack of effort. He defended himself by saying "If the owner wants me to place, I’ll try. But I don't like to ride a horse into the ground for nothing".

Later life

Johnstone retired from riding to become a trainer. He died in Paris on 29 April 1964 after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

Le Tremblay Le Tremblay () is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 15 December 2016, it was merged into the new commune Ombrée d'Anjou.

Personal life

Johnstone was married twice. In June 1925 he married Ruby Isabel Hornery-Ford but their partnership was short-lived. In 1940 he married Marie Marcelle Augustine Goubé, a former dancer at the

Folies Bergere Folies (; Picard language, Picard: ''Foulies'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Folies is situated on the D329 road, some southe ...

. His second marriage lasted until his death although he also carried on a long-term relationship with a mistress, Margo Winnick.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnstone, Rae 1905 births 1964 deaths Australian jockeys Sportspeople from Newcastle, New South Wales Sportsmen from New South Wales 20th-century Australian sportsmen