William Fisher Hunter Carson, OBE (born 16 November 1942) is a retired jockey in

thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and Horse industry, industry involving the Horse racing, racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter know ...

Life and career

Best known as "Willie", Carson was born in

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in 1942. He was apprenticed to Captain Gerald Armstrong at his stables at Tupgill, North Yorkshire. His first winner in Britain was Pinker's Pond in a seven-furlong apprentice handicap at Catterick Bridge Racecourse on 19 July 1962. He was British Champion Jockey five times (1972, 1973, 1978, 1980 and 1983), won 17 British Classic Races, and passed 100 winners in a season 23 times for a total of 3,828 wins, making him the fourth most successful jockey in Great Britain. Willie Carson's best season as a jockey came in 1990 when he rode 187 winners. This included riding six winners at Newcastle Racecourse on 30 June, making Carson one of only four jockeys to ride six winners at one meeting during the 20th century. However, he came second in the 1990 jockeys' championship to Pat Eddery (who rode 209 winners). Carson had a long association with trainer Major Dick Hern for whom he rode his first three Derby winners. Five feet tall and riding at an easily maintained weight of Carson was much in demand as a jockey up to his retirement in 1996 at the age of 54. In 1980, he took over the Minster House Stud at Ampney Crucis near

Cirencester Cirencester ( , ; see #Pronunciation, below for more variations) is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames. It is the List of ...

and he and his wife Elaine have developed it into a state of the art stud complex. He is almost certainly the only jockey in the 20th century to have ridden a horse that he bred, ''Minster Son'', to victory in one of the Classic races, the St. Leger Stakes 1988. He and his ex-wife Carol had three sons Anthony, Neil, and Ross. In the 1983 New Years Honours List, Willie Carson was made an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the Civil Division for his services to horse racing. This entitled him to the Post Nominal Letters "OBE" for life. From 1982 to 1983 Carson joined Bill Beaumont as one of the team captains for '' A Question of Sport''. With Clare Balding, Carson co-presented

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

horse racing on BBC1 until the BBC ended their racing coverage at the end of the 2012 season. He was chairman of Swindon Town FC from 2001 until August 2007 when, following a takeover of the club by Best Holdings SGPS S.A, he was replaced by Jim Little. In November 2010, he was awarded the

Honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

(DSc) by the University of Chester. In 2011, he came 5th in the eleventh series of ITV1's reality television show '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''.

Major wins

* 1,000 Guineas – (2) – '' Salsabil (1990), Shadayid (1993)'' * 2,000 Guineas – (4) – ''

High Top High Top (1969–1988) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire (horse), sire, best known for winning the British Classic Races, classic 2000 Guineas in 1972. High Top was one of the leading British two-year-olds of 1971 when his succ ...

(1972), Known Fact (1980), Don't Forget Me (1987),

Nashwan Nashwan (1 March 1986 – 19 July 2002) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire (horse), sire. After winning both his starts as a two-year-old, he developed into an outstanding performer in the spring and summer of ...

(1989)'' *

Ascot Gold Cup The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles 3 furlongs and 210 yards (4 ...

– (3) – '' Little Wolf (1983), Longboat (1986), Sadeem (1989)'' * Champion Stakes – (1) – '' Rose Bowl (1975)'' * Cork and Orrery Stakes (Diamond Jubilee Stakes) – (5) – ''Parsimony (1972), Swingtime (1975), Dafayna (1985), Danehill (1989), Atraf (1996)'' *

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

– (4) – ''

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

(1979), Henbit (1980), Nashwan (1989), Erhaab (1994)'' *

Dewhurst Stakes The Dewhurst Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mi ...

– (3) – ''Prince of Dance (1988, dead heat), Dr Devious (1991), Alhaarth (1995)'' *

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown ...

– (3) – '' Ela-Mana-Mou (1980), Nashwan (1989), Elmaamul (1990)'' * Falmouth Stakes – (2) – ''Cistus (1978), Rose Above (1979)'' * Fillies' Mile – (2) – ''Quick As Lightning (1979), Aqaarid (1994)'' * Haydock Sprint Cup – (3) – ''Boldboy (1977), Habibti (1983), Dayjur (1990)'' * International Stakes – (3) – ''Relkino (1977), Troy (1979), Shady Heights (1988)'' *

July Cup The July Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 me ...

– (2) – ''Habibti (1983), Hamas (1993)'' * King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes – (4) – ''Troy (1979), Ela-Mana-Mou (1980), Petoski (1985), Nashwan (1989)'' *

King's Stand Stakes The King Charles III Stakes (formerly the King's Stand Stakes) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 5 fu ...

– (3) – ''Habibti (1984), Chilibang (1988), Dayjur (1990)'' * Lockinge Stakes – (2) – ''Relkino (1977), Wassl (1984, dead heat)'' * Middle Park Stakes – (4) – ''Sharpen Up (1971), Known Fact (1979), Rodrigo de Triano (1991), Fard (1994)'' * Nassau Stakes – (1) – ''Cistus (1978)'' * Nunthorpe Stakes – (3) – ''Bay Express (1975), Habibti (1983), Dayjur (1990)'' * Oaks – (4) – ''

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...

(1977), Bireme (1980), Sun Princess (1983), Salsabil (1990)'' * Prince of Wales's Stakes – (4) – ''Ela-Mana-Mou (1980), Morcon (1984), Muhtarram (1994 & 1995)'' * Queen Anne Stakes – (1) – ''Lahib (1992)'' * Queen Elizabeth II Stakes – (8) – ''Rose Bowl (1975 & 1976), Trusted (1977), Homing (1978), Known Fact (1980), Teleprompter (1984), Lahib (1992), Bahri (1995)'' * Racing Post Trophy – (3) – ''

(1971), Emmson (1987), Al Hareb (1988)'' * St. James's Palace Stakes – (2) – '' Marju (1991), Bahri (1995)'' * St. Leger – (3) – ''Dunfermline (1977), Sun Princess (1983), Minster Son (1988)'' * Sun Chariot Stakes – (4) – ''Duboff (1975), Dusty Dollar (1986), Ristna (1991), Talented (1993)'' * Sussex Stakes – (1) – ''Distant Relative (1990)'' * Yorkshire Oaks – (5) – ''Dibidale (1974), Sun Princess (1983), Circus Plume (1984), Roseate Tern (1989), Hellenic (1990)'' ---- France *

Poule d'Essai des Pouliches The Poule d'Essai des Pouliches is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile) ...

– (1) – ''Ta Rib (1996)'' * Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp – (2) – ''Habibti (1983), Dayjur (1990)'' * Prix de Diane – (1) – ''Rafha (1990)'' *

Prix de la Forêt The Prix de la Forêt is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs), and ...

– (2) – ''Roan Star (1975), Salse (1988)'' * Prix du Jockey Club – (1) – ''Policeman (1980)'' * Prix Marcel Boussac – (3) – ''Ashayer (1987), Salsabil (1989), Shadayid (1990)'' * Prix Morny – (1) – ''Deep Roots (1982)'' * Prix de l'Opéra – (2) – ''Cistus (1978), Dione (1982)'' * Prix Royal-Oak – (1) – ''Niniski (1979)'' * Prix de la Salamandre – (1) – ''Deep Roots (1982, dead heat)'' * Prix Vermeille – (1) – ''Salsabil (1990)'' ---- Germany * Bayerisches Zuchtrennen – (2) – ''Highland Chieftain (1986), Shady Heights (1988)'' * Grosser Preis von Baden – (1) – ''Sharper (1976)'' * Grosser Preis von Berlin – (1) – ''First Lord (1978)'' * Preis von Europa – (1) – ''Prince Ippi (1972)'' ---- Ireland *

Irish 1,000 Guineas The Irish 1,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is sched ...

– (2) – ''Mehthaaf (1994), Matiya (1996)'' * Irish 2,000 Guineas – (1) – ''Don't Forget Me (1987)'' * Irish Champion Stakes – (2) – ''Elmaamul (1990), Muhtarram (1993)'' * Irish Derby – (2) – ''Troy (1979), Salsabil (1990)'' * Irish Oaks – (4) – ''Dibidale (1974), Shoot A Line (1980), Swiftfoot (1982), Helen Street (1985)'' * Irish St. Leger – (1) – ''Niniski (1979)'' * Matron Stakes – (1) – ''Llyn Gwynant (1988)'' * Tattersalls Gold Cup – (1) – ''Fair of the Furze (1986)'' ---- Italy * Derby Italiano – (2) – ''Red Arrow (1976), Tommy Way (1986)'' * Gran Criterium – (1) – ''Sanam (1986)'' * Gran Premio di Milano – (2) – ''Tommy Way (1986), Alwuhush (1989)'' * Oaks d'Italia – (1) – ''Miss Gris (1985)'' * Premio Lydia Tesio – (1) – ''Oumaldaaya (1992)'' *

Premio Parioli The Premio Parioli is a Group 3 flat horse race in Italy open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts. It is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile) at Capannelle in April. It is Italy's equivalent of the 2000 Gu ...

– (1) – ''Alhijaz (1992)'' * Premio Presidente della Repubblica – (3) – ''Jalmood (1983), Alwuhush (1989), Muhtarram (1994)'' * Premio Roma – (2) – ''High Hawk (1983), Highland Chieftain (1989)'' * Premio Vittorio di Capua – (2) – ''Alhijaz (1992 & 1993)''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carson, Willie 1942 births Living people Sportspeople from Stirling Scottish jockeys Lester Award winners BBC sports presenters and reporters Officers of the Order of the British Empire British Champion flat jockeys Swindon Town F.C. directors and chairmen