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Philip Blacker (b. 1949 [1] ) was a jockey until his retirement in 1982. [2] Since then, he has been a sculptor of sporting arts.
He is the son of General Sir Cecil Blacker.
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. [1] He is a Member of the Jockey Club, [3] and has sat on various committees including the British Horseracing Authorities Security and Investigations Committee. [4]
In 1973 Blacker finished fourth on Spanish Steps in the first Grand National 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". [1] 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". [1]
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 (Lighter) and the Triumph Hurdle (Pollardstown).
Blacker is considered as "one of the most important names" in 20th century sporting art by Stella A. Walker. [5] A former art student prior to his days as a jockey, [1] in 1987, he produced his first work: a life-size sculpture of Red Rum at Aintree Racecourse, [6] unveiled one year later by the Princess Royal. [7]
He has produced numerous works across the UK and abroad; including racecourse bronzes of Best Mate at Cheltenham, Generous at Epsom, Persian Punch at Newmarket, Desert Orchid at Kempton Park, Makybe Diva at Flemington in Melbourne, Northern Dancer at Woodbine in Canada and an 18-foot stallion in Saudi Arabia. [1] [6]
In 2014 he sculpted a series of bronze friezes featuring a number houses in a Thompson's Gallery exhibit Farewell, Leicester Square commemoration of the centenary of the First World War, which he says were based on the poetry of the era. [8]
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.
Horse racing is the second largest spectator sport in Great Britain, and one of the longest established, with a history dating back many centuries. According to a report by the British Horseracing Authority it generates £3.39 billion total direct and indirect expenditure in the British economy, of which £1.05 Billion is from core racing industry expenditure and the major horse racing events such as Royal Ascot and Cheltenham Festival are important dates in the British and international sporting and society calendar.
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Aintree Racecourse is a racecourse in Aintree, Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, bordering the city of Liverpool. The racecourse is the venue for the Grand National steeplechase, which takes place annually in April over three days. Aintree also holds meetings in May and June, October (Sunday), November and December.
Sir Anthony Peter McCoy, commonly known as AP McCoy or Tony McCoy, is a Northern Irish former National Hunt horse racing jockey. Based in Ireland and the UK, McCoy rode a record 4,358 winners, and was Champion Jockey a record 20 consecutive times, every year that he was a professional.
Red Rum was a champion Thoroughbred steeplechaser. He achieved an unmatched historic treble when he won the Grand National in 1973, 1974 and 1977, and also came second in the two intervening years, 1975 and 1976. The Grand National is a notoriously difficult race that has been described as "the ultimate test of a horse’s courage". He was also renowned for his jumping ability, having not fallen in 100 races.
Crisp was a champion steeplechase horse. He was a bay Thoroughbred gelding that was foaled in 1963 in Australia. In his native country, he won many important jumping races, particularly two-milers, including the Hiskens Steeplechase in 1969 and 1970. So well did he jump, he was nicknamed "The Black Kangaroo". However, Crisp is probably best remembered for his epic contest with Red Rum in the 1973 Grand National in England.
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Gerald Barnard Balding Jr. OBE, known as Toby Balding, was a British racehorse trainer, one of the few to have won the "big three" British jump races—the Grand National, Cheltenham Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle.
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Stanley Thomas Edward Mellor was a National Hunt jockey and trainer who was the first jockey to ride 1,000 winners and Champion Jockey three years in a row from 1960 to 1962.
Barton was a British racehorse of Thoroughbred and Anglo-Arabian ancestry who competed in National Hunt racing. In a racing career which lasted from October 1997 until November 2003 he won fourteen of his twenty-six races. He had his greatest success in the 1998/1999 National Hunt season when he dominated the novice hurdle division in Britain, winning all seven of his races including the Classic Novices' Hurdle, Winter Novices' Hurdle, River Don Novices' Hurdle, Royal & SunAlliance Novices' Hurdle and Mersey Novices' Hurdle. After missing the next season he returned to win the Fighting Fifth Hurdle and the Aintree Hurdle, easily defeating Best Mate in the latter race. When switched to steeplechasing he won the Dipper Novices' Chase and the Mildmay Novices' Chase but was never as effective as he had been over hurdles.
Many Clouds was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2015 Grand National. After being sold as a foal, he was sent to England and trained for a National Hunt racing career by Oliver Sherwood.
Rule the World is a British-bred, Irish-trained thoroughbred racehorse who won the Grand National as a novice in 2016. He showed good form as a staying hurdler, winning the Slaney Novice Hurdle in 2013 and the Limestone Lad Hurdle in 2014 before being stepped up to compete in steeplechases. In his first season over fences he failed to win in eight attempts but finished second in five races including the Irish Grand National. In the 2015/16 season he recorded two seconds and a third in his first five races before posting his first steeplechase win in the Grand National on 9 April 2016.
Tiger Roll is a retired Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt racing and won the Grand National in 2018 and 2019. He has also won five times at the Cheltenham Festival: the Triumph Hurdle in 2014, the National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup in 2017 and the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
Richard Charles Guest is a retired National Hunt jockey.
