BROWN WAS THE JACK OF ALL TRADES

Graham Buddry is back for part two as he looks back at the career of the legendary Brown Jack

We left Brown Jack a few months back after a stellar, if short, career over hurdles where in his final race over timber he won the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle. Now, a few months later, he is set to embark on a new career racing on the flat.

His first race under rules for Aubrey Hastings and Ivor Anthony, the trainer and assistant trainer, came at Hurst Park on May 5, 1928 where although he was unplaced, connections were happy with the run and the jockey, Steve Donoghue, insisted Brown Jack would win the Ascot Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 19.

Windsor towards the end of May and Kempton at the beginning of June were the next planned engagements and Brown Jack proved he still had the tenacity and courage at the end of a race as in both he fought back with great determination to win each race by a head.

Two hard races would have been enough for most horses yet Brown Jack was generally so lazy at home he needed these types of races to both get him fit and keep him interested in what he was doing. And so to Royal Ascot on June 19, 1928 for the two mile Ascot Stakes Handicap where Brown Jack was sent off the 5/1 joint favourite with Arctic Star, his former field companion from long ago, in a field of 21 runners.

In the saddling enclosure Brown Jack was so excited he was literally shaking at the knees and sweating buckets. Neither trainer nor jockey were perturbed by this, in fact with Brown Jack it was considered a good sign; “the more he sweats the better he is and if he doesn’t shake, there’s something wrong.” The race went exactly to plan with Brown Jack and Donoghue shooting through into the lead inside the two-furlong marker and easily holding off the challengers to win by three lengths. An incredible history had taken its first step.