Two St Neots Victorian Jockeys Contrasting Lives

History

Two St. Neots Victorian Jockeys Contrasting Lives

History is full of strange coincidences. Two future Derby winners briefly lived in Victorian St. Neots, riding in both English and Continental races. Herbert Otto Madden grew up in the equine atmosphere of the Budapest stables scene, which, at the height of the Hapsburg Dynasty, was world famous. Otto dreamt of the day he would also become famous as a jockey, like his father. So, it is a conundrum as to why his father sent him to a boarding school, in Eaton Socon in the 1880’s. On the day he left school he said to his schoolmistress teacher that he would send her a diamond brooch as a gift when he won the famous Classic race, the Epsom Derby. He went to live at Newmarket for most of his life and in 1898 he duly won the Epsom Derby on the famous Jeddah at the incredible odds of 100 to 1. Otto was an extremely skilled jockey. His riding qualities attracted the attentions of the media and a lampoon-like cartoon of him appeared in the 26th July 1900 edition of Vanity Fair magazine. To give some idea of his importance in the sport his riding fees for the 1899 season totalled £2,827 after coming second in the Jockey’s Table with 130 winners. He died in 1942, a highly esteemed churchwarden at Newmarket, aged 70. Otto, like all jockeys, had to work his way up from the stable floor and was one of many aspiring contenders for stardom. In a league table of 1889 he is credited with 23 races, 2 winners; 4 seconds and one third. In contrast the ‘cracks’ were riding over 600 mounts with over 150 winners. Also in the 1889 table Henry Ibbett (born in St. Neots in 1870 but moved to Leicester) is listed as riding 23 horses with one win and three 2nds and 3rds. Otto went on to be Champion Jockey for four years in 1898, 1901, 1903 and 1904 but Henry stayed in the third division of English racing with an occasional 1st class win such as Comedy in the 1891 Cambridgeshire at Newmarket. Henry made the opposite journey in life to Otto for he went to the continent and became successful in Hungary and Germany riding Hagen to victory in the German Derby in 1901. His health, however was in a ‘precarious state, with evident signs of that fell disease, consumption’ and he returned home to Leicester where he died after ‘a painful illness’ in July 1903 at the age of 33. ‘The news of his death will be received with regret for Ibbett was always popular in his profession’. Thanks to St. Neots History Societies Newsletter of Autumn 2006 for John Slack’s detailed account of Otto Maddens life. Check out the Museum website for more local stories.