Chris Green (horseman)
| Chris Green | |
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″Half Caste with C. Green up″ (anonymous but possibly after Henry Barraud who painted Half Caste in 1859)
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| Occupation | Jockey and trainer |
| Born | 1820 Upwell, Norfolk |
| Died | 26 February 1874 (aged 53) Walsoken, Cambridgeshire |
| Resting place |
Walsoken, Cambridgeshire 52.672492, 0.183218 |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) |
| Weight | 9 st (57.15 kg) |
| Major racing wins | |
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As steeplechase jockey:
As steeplechase trainer:
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| Significant horses | |
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Ridden:
Trained (steeplechase):
Trained (flat):
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As steeplechase jockey:
As steeplechase trainer:
Ridden:
Trained (steeplechase):
Trained (flat):
Chris Green (1820–1874) was a leading English steeplechase rider and trainer who won two Aintree Grand Nationals as jockey (1850 on Abd-el-Kader and 1859 on Half Caste) and trained the winning horse in another, The Lamb in 1871.
He was active as a rider from around 1837 to around 1863, and as a trainer from the mid-1850s to about 1872, two years before his death. He interspersed his professional racing life with periods concentrating on his farming interests on the Norfolk–Cambridgeshire borders.
His full name was Christopher Green but throughout his professional life he was referred to as Chris or Cris Green.
His exact date of birth is not known, but he was baptised on 16 July 1820 as Christopher Green to William and Mary Green at Upwell, close to Wisbech and the Isle of Ely in the Fenlands of the Norfolk/Cambridgeshire borders. There is nothing in later records to disagree with 1820 being his year of birth. His 1874 obituary writer, styling himself as 'The Sportsman', tells of him learning to ride at a very early age 'whipped in to his father' who hunted a pack of harriers across the 'enormous Fen drains'. He soon earned a name for the daring manner in which he rode.
Chris Green soon obtained his first 'place' on leaving home with Lord Berners but, according to his obituary writer, when he thought it was he that was entitled to the mount (and not George Edwards, the nominated jockey) of Phosphorus, the eventual but unfancied winner of the 1837 Derby, he threw up his engagement.
He then moved on to William Rowland Sandiford 'who kept a small stud of flat racers and steeplechasers' at Colkirk House, Colkirk, Norfolk. Bailey's Magazine of Sports & Pastimes illustrates Green's work ethic with three rides in two days for William Rowland Sandiford at the Norfolk and Norwich Steeple Chases on 10 & 11 September 1839 on the 4yr-old bay colt Oliver Twist. A small biography when he hit the public consciousness ten years later mentions that 'in 1839-40 was successful with Thought, Corringham and Longwaist' and there are several race reports of 1840 that mention his wins on these horses. Indeed, one account of a Chase at Diss waxes quite lyrical over Green's handling of the race-winning heavyweight chestnut Thought - 'Mr Green was rider for Mr Sandiford, and Mr Turner of Carlton, was seen mounted on Modesty. It would be hard to find two better Steeple Chase Riders than them ... Green on Thought had a tremendous fall, by his horse swerving against a gate post; although much stunned he was up "as quick as Thought," and away went horse and rider at an increased speed ... The riding of Green was much admired, he is not only a good but a most fortunate rider, and has almost invariably ridden the winner, wherever he has appeared this season'.
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