John Wells (jockey)
John Wells (1833–1873), nicknamed Tiny Wells or Brusher Wells, was a Warwickshire-born British flat racing Champion Jockey of the Victorian era. Career Apprentice He was apprenticed to the stable of Mr Flintoff in Hednesford while in his teens. There, he earned the nickname 'Tiny' on account of his small stature, even though he eventually became one of the tallest jockeys in the weighing room. He was also known as 'Brusher', but it is not known where this nickname came from. His first victory came in 1848 in the Birmingham Stakes at the now defunct Walsall Racecourse on a horse called Ribaldry. Full professional He became the retained jockey for Sir Joseph Hawley and was therefore most often found riding for that owner's trainer, George Manning, who was based at Cannons Heath, near Kingsclere, Berkshire. Early on in his professional career, he suffered a serious accident while riding the mare Freedom in the Earl Spencer's Plate at Northampton in April 1852. As two horses closed on her to overtake, she crossed her legs and fell, breaking her back and dying instantly. Wells himself was left with severe concussion. Despite this setback, he topped the jockeys' championship in 1853 with 86 winners, a product of the Hawley – Manning partnership. He could still meet a weight of 6 stone at the time. The next few years were full of notable achievements. He won his first classic on Virago, often judged the finest filly of the 19th century. In 1857, he won 20 races in one year on the remarkable Fisherman, trained by Mr Parr. Then, in 1858 and 1859, he won back-to-back Derbies for Hawley, on Beadsman and Musjid. Of his winning ride on Musjid it was said, "Not one jockey out of 50 who cared a straw for his life would have dashed through the mob of horses that shut him in as he did." Manning died in 1863, and John Porter took over at Cannons Heath. Although by this time Wells had long been eclipsed as leading jockey by George Fordham, he still found success with many of Beadsman's offspring. A particular favourite was Rosicrucian. Wells is said to have announced himself and the horse as, "John Wells on Rosicrucian, the handsomest man on the handsomest horse in England." When it came to the 1868 Derby, Wells was left with the dilemma of choosing his mount from three of Beadsman's sons—the aforementioned Rosicrucian, Green Sleeve and Blue Gown. Green Sleeve and Rosicrucian had run first and second in the previous year's Middle Park Stakes and had beaten Blue Gown in trials, so Wells might have been expected to favour them. Moreover, Wells had history with Blue Gown. As favourite for the 1867 Champagne Stakes, the horse had won, but later been disqualified because of "trickery in the weighing room". This "trickery" was required because Wells had stayed up with friends socialising the night before the race and ruined his chance of making the designated race weight of 8 st 10