Fred Archer

Fred Archer, nicknamed The Tin Man, was an English flat race jockey of the Victorian era, described as the best all-round jockey that the turf has ever seen. Born in Cheltenham in 1857, the son of the jockey William Archer, he was apprenticed to the trainer Mathew Dawson at Newmarket. He was Champion Jockey for thirteen consecutive years until 1886, riding 2,748 winners from 8,084 starts, and set records for titles, for wins in a season with 246 and for career wins. He won his first Derby in 1877 on Silvio, took a famous Derby on Bend Or in 1880 and in 1886 won the Derby and St. Leger on Ormonde. Delirious from wasting and the loss of his wife in childbirth, he took his own life aged 29.