Frederick James Archer (11 January 1857 – 8 November 1886), also known by the nickname The Tin Man, was an English flat race jockey of the Victorian era, described as "the best all-round jockey that the turf has ever seen".]]
Archer "captured the public imagination as no other jockey had ever done".
In his early career he was known as a severe rider, who was not sparing with whip and spurs on the horse. This was a style he may have adopted under the influence of stable jockey Tom French.
He was always first down to the start, so as to get the best starting place and was obedient to the starter, unlike some other jockeys. He was always quick away, "like a greyhound from the slips". He would let his horse's head hang loose, and get the horse going with a touch of the spur.
The death of his wife was a factor. "Poor Nellie! She was my glory, my pride, my life, my all," he had earlier told a friend. "She was taken from me at the very moment that my happiness did really seem to me to be so great and complete as to leave nothing else in this world that I could wish for."
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Classic race victories
Great Britain
- Epsom Derby – Silvio (1877), Bend Or (1880), Iroquois (1881), Melton (1885), Ormonde (1886)
- Epsom Oaks – Spinaway (1875), Jannette (1878), Wheel of Fortune (1880), Lonely (1885)
- 1,000 Guineas – Spinaway (1875), Wheel of Fortune (1879)
- 2,000 Guineas – Atlantic (1874), Charibert (1879), Galliard (1883), Paradox (1885)
- St. Leger – Silvio (1877), Jannette (1878), Iroquois (1881), Dutch Oven (1882), Melton (1885), Ormonde (1886)
France
- Grand Prix de Paris – Bruce (1882), Paradox (1885), Minting (1886)
- Prix du Jockey Club – Beauminet (1880), Frontin (1883)
See also
- List of jockeys
References
Bibliography
- <!-- Mortimer et al. 1978 Encyclopedia -->
Further reading
- The Life of Fred Archer by E.M. Humphries, Hutchinson, 1923.