Yes, Bustino! Correct. Bill Marshall was the subject of one of my ‘Down Memory Lane’ articles- a fantastic character who trained Raffingora to hold the world record at 5 furlongs for a while after winning under top weight at Epsom. He ended up winning the Caribbean Derby and went scuba diving at 86 years old. Nobody did what he achieved.
For those interested, here is a reply from the Betfair Community Forum about the life of Bill Marshall: Bill Marshall, who has died in Barbados aged 87, flew Spitfires and Hurricanes in the Second World War and later became a well-known racehorse trainer - he holds the record as the only person to have saddled winners from stables on four continents. As a fighter pilot in July 1944, Marshall dived his Spitfire on a V1 flying bomb in the skies above Kent. He was about to back off to give himself shooting space when the V1's engine cut out over the town of Lydd. Realising that, unless he took immediate action, the bomb would fall directly on to the village, he opened fire from close range and destroyed it. The blast blew a large hole in the Spitfire's radiator, and Marshall was fortunate to get back to his base at West Malling in one piece. Four days later, he received a message from Gordon Paine, Lydd's mayor, congratulating him on his bravery and expressing gratitude from the population of the town, which had suffered nothing worse than a few broken windows. William Cyril Marshall was born in Newcastle upon Tyne on August 14 1918. Three months later, his family moved to a farm near Chichester, where he developed his love of horses. His father, Cyril, who had been invalided out of the Navy in 1918 after almost choking to death from fumes when the submarine he commanded was hit by a depth charge, bred shire horses and was keen on hunting. By the time he was 12 Marshall was obsessed with horses and, as an amateur, rode his first winner in a Sussex point-to-point; for the son of a retired naval officer, however, to become a professional jockey was out of the question. Bill's great-grandfather, grandfather and father had all attended Rugby, and he was due to follow in their footsteps when he decided to run away from home. The youngster cycled from Chichester to Portsmouth and joined a tramp steamer bound for Australia, a country he had read much about and where he was determined to earn his fortune. During the journey, the ship put into Hamburg. There Bill enjoyed a few drinks before paying his first visit to a brothel. Marshall recounted in his later years how an able seaman had that night given him the best bit of advice he had ever received: always to visit the ****house before the pub, not the other way round. Having reached Australia, he found a job as a jockey, but soon turned his hand to training and established a travelling stable, taking his horses to "bush" race meetings the length and breadth of the country. Then, aged 17, he moved to South Africa, where he found a job in a gold mine and accumulated sufficient funds to set up a successful training yard near Johannesburg. It is likely that Marshall would never have left South Africa had it not been for the outbreak of the Second World War. A staunch patriot, he was determined to join the RAF. He learned to fly, bought a Tiger Moth and, in September 1939, flew it back to Britain - a journey that was fraught with danger. Not only was his flimsy aircraft susceptible to bad weather, but he also had to exercise extreme caution when deciding in which countries he could safely re-fuel. Marshall landed in England eight days later, after touching down in eight countries, none of which was sympathetic to the Germans. He joined the RAF and became a fighter pilot, first serving with No 91 Squadron in the Battle of Britain and later with No 253 Squadron in North Africa. He principally flew Spitfires and Hurricanes and was shot down twice. His DFC citation credited Flight Lieutenant Marshall with having destroyed two enemy aircraft, seven flying bombs and sharing in the destruction of one midget submarine. It commended his "fine leadership, outstanding skill, courage, and fine fighting spirit". But it was a non-combat flying incident that propelled Marshall into the newspaper headlines in 1943. Flying back from a mission over France, he realised that he was going to be very late for a date in Buckinghamshire. He was supposed to land at Tangmere, in Sussex, but diverted to Marlow, where his date awaited him in the Compleat Angler Inn. His daredevil act of flying his Spitfire under a bridge and performing a roll impressed his girlfriend, but not an air commodore who happened to be in the bar. A report was filed, but Marshall escaped a court martial because it was wartime. He then settled back in England, where he became one of the leading racehorse trainers between the 1950s and 1970s. His first yard was at Chichester and later he trained in Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Newmarket. The first of his winners came with Danger Light at Windsor in 1951. At first, he concentrated on National Hunt horses, sending out the remarkable Hindhead (who went on winning until the age of 15) to score 23 victories. But it was as a Flat trainer that he would make his name. The two horses for which he will be best remembered in Britain were both greys, the multiple-winners My Swanee and Raffingora. The former became a public favourite by winning six handicaps under ever-increasing burdens in 1969; but My Swanee's achievements were overshadowed by those of Raffingora. That giant sprinter, which had been bought cheaply by Marshall, won 17 of his 28 outings in two seasons. In 1970 he scorched home in several of the premier races, but his most memorable victory came in the Cherkley Sprint Handicap at Epsom on Derby Day. Carrying 10 stone and ridden by Lester Piggott, a lifelong friend of Marshall, Raffingora won by a short head in a then world record (electrically timed) for five furlongs of 53.89 seconds. In 1972 the trainer enjoyed his best season for winners with 63 successes. This was remarkable because, in June of that year, Marshall and his wife, Pamela, had had a narrow escape from death when the light aircraft in which they, the racehorse-owner John Howard, and the jockey Joe Mercer were travelling to Belgium crashed after take-off from Newbury racecourse. The pilot was killed instantly, but all the passengers survived, although the Marshalls were seriously injured. In 1981 they moved to Barbados, where they made a considerable impact on the island's racing industry. While Pamela, as a director of the island's Turf Club, sought and found new sponsors for races at the colourful Garrison Savannah racecourse, her husband launched his new training career. During the next 13 years he saddled seven winners of the Sandy Lane (formerly Cockspur) Barbados Gold Cup, the most prestigious race in the Caribbean, and nine Barbados Derby winners. He was champion trainer no fewer than 11 times and was awarded the Silver Crown of Merit for his services to Barbados racing in 2003, the year in which his biography, You Win Some, You Lose Some (co-written by Julian Armfield and Fred Langan) was published. Among the many owners for whom he trained in Barbados were Sir Martyn and Sally Arbib; Derrick and Gay Smith; Vere Davis; Gill Wilson; and the late Paul Locke. A statue of Sally Arbib's Blast of Storm, the Gold Cup hero of 2000, 2001 and 2002, was unveiled at Garrison Savannah by Barbados's Prime Minister, Owen Arthur, in March 2003. Up until his death on Monday, Marshall rose at 3.15 am six days a week to supervise his horses' training. At lunch time he could be found in the bar of the Barbados Yacht Club, where he would entertain friends and visitors with a rich tapestry of tales from his life in racing. Most Sundays, he lunched at Sandy Lane, where he persuaded the restaurant manager to include his beloved jellied eels on the menu.
Remaining answers are: No.5. Sodium. Won Irish Derby and St Leger. 1966. He had great tussles with English Derby winner, Charlottown. No, 10 Ruby Walsh. In 2004/5 season, he won the Welsh National on Silver Birch which would win 2007 Aintree National. Also Irish National on Numbersixvalverde which would win 2006 Aintree National, and Hedgehunter in the 2005 Aintree National. Riding Cornish Rebel in the Scottish National, he was beaten a short head by Joes Edge, ridden by Keith Mercer.
Sodium!, and I've got a GCE O Level. Forgot him, though '66 was not a vintage year and not a year I care to remember other than the World Cup. Only classic winner sired by Psidium, though out of a full-sister to an Oaks winner. Good to see that rogue George Todd get a decent horse. Strongly believe the demise of British owner-breeders was using sires like Charlottown. In an indifferent Racing year the TV and press made so much of those two. They were firmly put in their place as 4yos. Thanks Tamerlo. Remember seeing Provoke run at York in the Melrose Handicap on TV. He was topweight and giving pounds away to a Sam Hall horse called Santa Vimy (ridden by Joe Sime), who was supposed to be a cert. In a driving finish Provoke narrowly won and Sam's face was even redder than usual (he would be proud of his step-niece's efforts this year). Astor and Hern thought it worth going to Doncaster to take 2nd place honours against Meadow Court, who with the absence of Sea Bird looked unbeatable. As you say run on very soft going, in pouring rain the commentator called Meadow Court as coming away from his field 2f out but was wrong. It was Provoke. He was an immature colt winning his 4th race on the trot. Much was expected from him the next year and he was actually rated the 2nd best horse to race in England in '65. But in '66 he got the equine virus (there were no injections in those days) and he never ran again. He fell away to skin and bone and eventually was sold to Russia as a stallion. He died in a fall when stepping of the plane: tragic.
“Good to see that rogue George Todd get a decent horse.” Yes, but apparently he really fancied Oncidium for Santa Claus’ Derby in 1964 and, after running deplorably, Todd felt that he would have won the race if he’d given the same performance as he did when winning the earlier Lingfield Derby Trial. Scobie Breasley had deserted him to ride the winner, Santa Claus, but teamed up with him in the following year’s Ascot Gold Cup. Sadly, he pulled Scobie’s hands out for over half the race and wouldn’t settle- and then had nothing left. I thought Scobie rode one of his rare bad races and should have let him go from the start. However, Todd certainly had two outstanding horses in Trelawny and Nosey. Trelawny’s wonderful exploits are well documented- both Flat and National Hunt, but I never saw a better staying hurdler than Nosey. I remember seeing him win the old Stayers’ Hurdle equivalent, the Spa Hurdle, beating Scottish stayer, Commandeer. What a turn of foot he had, so much so that Terry Biddlecombe rode him again in the following year’s Champion Hurdle. Todd really fancied him but sadly, Salmon Spray brought him down when he fell at the first flight.
Probably a bit unfair to call him a rogue, more of a character. For once you are wrong Tamerlo, as Todd did not train Oncidium until well into his 3yo career. He was owned by Lord Howard de Walden and until Magic Flute came along was probably his best horse. He was trained by Jack Waugh who won the Royal Stakes with him at Sandown beating Indiana. Later he trounced the same horse by 8 lengths in the Lingfield Trial. Everyone felt Oncidium was the horse to keep the Irish colt Santa Claus at bay in the Derby, everyone that is except for his stable. Waugh was unhappy with the ride he was given at Lingfield as he saw it as unnecessarily hard on a cranky colt (as described by Waugh's apprentice G Duffield), who would find any excuse to not exert himself. Eph Smith rode him at Epsom and was given a roasting for his ride. Smith devoted a whole chapter of his autobiography to Oncidium, describing him as a pig of a horse who continually dropped his bit during the race. If he had repeated either of his previous runs he'd have won the Derby, as Indiana was beaten a length into 2nd by Santa Claus. Maybe Waugh was right and the race was lost at Lingfield: maybe he wasn't.. Murless, who also trained for De Walden, reported to him that Oncidium was hard galloped on the Saturday after the race which he found surprising. When De Walden explained he was a difficult horse Murless suggested he sent him to Todd, who had made a name for himself training 'difficult' and unsound horses. So he was sent to Manton and George Todd. His first race for Todd was the St Leger, in which he failed again with Indiana winning the race. An amusing story is told of Todd's response to going overseas to take care of his runners. He wouldn't ever go: his comment was ' I went abroad to a place called Passchendale once, didn't like it, haven't been away again'. So he wasn't in France when Oncidium ran badly in the Arc and he didn't go to the Curragh. Paul Mathieu wrote an excellent book on the Masters of Manton, though it's difficult to compare Todd with Alec Taylor snr (12 classics including 2 Derbys), Alec Taylor Jnr (21 classics, 3 Derbys and 1 Triple Crown) and Joe Lawson (10 Classics).
You may be the only 2 on the forum, apart from me, that remembers that front running stayer By Thunder
Bustino, I stand corrected. I never realised Todd didn’t train him at Epsom. I’d be interested if you thought Breasley rode a bad race on Santa Claus in the Derby, albeit he won. He was heavily criticised for being so far back round Tattenham Corner. I think Jimmy Lindley rode him in the Arc to be placed and said he endorsed the way Scobie rode him at Epsom, saying that he had to be ridden that way. I suppose winning the Derby excused everything for Scobie but he did use exaggerated waiting tactics in some big races. I remember him being way behind on Reform when winning at Royal Palace’s Derby meeting and again at Ascot when he only just got up to beat a rank outsider, prompting Gordon Richards to say “ He’d have been on the next boat back to Australia if he’d lost that one!”
Same for me Ron, though I have got an excellent article on him. Was owned by Lionel B Holliday, though not particularly one of his families. Famous Todd story with Holliday. Hern mentioned he needed a lead horse for one of Holliday's stayers. Holliday was at Kempton one night and bought the winner of a selling handicap. The only trouble was that there was an unwritten rule amongst trainers that they never bid for George Todd's Seller winners (Todd farmed these races continually buying back the horses). Todd went ballistic and an embarrassed Hern had to make a grovelling apology. As regards By Thunder his half-sister was the dam of Persian War, and also the unlucky Remand's dam was a half-sister to Persian War and full-sister to a beaten Derby favourite called Escort. A family I haven't seen for sometime.
