Here’s one spotted by top local history ferret [Howmuch?] in the archives of the Walsall Observer. He doesn’t give an exact date, but says this is from 1926, and I’m wondering what readers know or can find out about our equine history?
I know there’s a long history of trotting here, and of course, back then, most towns and cities had a race course of some kind – even Brownhills.
I’ve not heard of J.T. Harding previously, so it’ll be interesting to see what we can find – thank to [Howmuch?] for the clip. Comment here, or BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com. Cheers.
Brownhills Jockey in India
Since the close of the flat-racing season in England, the promising young local jockey J.T. Harding, who is a son of Councillor J.J. Harding of High Street, Brownhills, has been trying his luck on the racecourses of India, and has won a number of successes. At the Madras meeting he rode the winners of three of the principle races – the Trades Cup, the Mysore Cup and the Ceylon Cup. On the day on which he was successful on ‘Princess Jabby’ (starting at 5-1) in the last mentioned he also won the Arabian Plate on Lutchman (6-1) and he also rode the Raja of Venkatagiri’s ‘Red Cockade’ (6-1), which finished second in the Madras Griffin Plate, and ‘Sawi’ (8-1) which was third in the Persian Plate.
Clip from the Walsall Observer in 1926. Thanks to [Howmuch?] for the spot.