Joe Mercer (jockey) - Career - The Final Years

The Final Years

Numerically Mercer had his sixth best season in 1980 with 104 winners, but he slipped to fifth in that year's jockeys' table. However the season started well as usual at the Newmarket and Newbury Spring meetings. Biggest winner of the week was Evita, who won the accepted trial for the One Thousand Guineas, the Nell Gwynn Stakes. The Cecil stable was in a similar position to 1978 and had an unraced filly who was being touted as their best filly. Unlike Brigata, the Daniel Wildenstein owned Saison appeared at Newbury and won her maiden authoritatively, immediately being installed as favourite for the One Thousand Guineas, with Mercer to ride her (Pat Eddery took the ride on Evita). When it came to the big race itself, both fillies failed behind the winner, Quick as Lightning, and both failed to win again.

Cecil had no runner in the Two Thousand Guineas as the trialled colts failed to distinguish themselves and so on the day of that race was at Haydock to give Kris his seasonal debut in a relatively small race. Kris won his follow-up race, the Lockinge Stakes, at Newbury but soon after was injured and did not reappear again until early September when he won a small race at Goodwood. His final race, the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, was a few weeks later and Kris had by then become difficult to train and difficult at the stalls. Covered in sweat he went down by a neck to that year’s Two Thousand Guineas winner, Known Fact. His injury had caused him to miss all his midsummer races and meant that he didn’t ever run over ten furlongs, which had been the aim of his third season in training.

Mercer again won the Dante Stakes, this time aboard Hello Gorgeous who went on to represent Mercer/Cecil in the Derby. Cecil’s other Derby colt, Ginistrelli, had appeared in the Sandown Classic Trial in April and had won that race for Mercer. His next race was the Lingfield Derby Trial, in which he was totally eclipsed and didn’t run again. Hello Gorgeous ran a similar race to the previous year’s Derby runner Lyphard’s Wish and faded in the last two furlongs. He was a good second in his next race, the Eclipse Stakes, to Ela-Mana-Mou but did not win again.

A more progressive colt was Light Cavalry, who won a handicap at Newbury mid-May, and then went on to win the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot. This was one of four Mercer victories at the Royal Meeting as he also won the Queen Mary Stakes on the speedy, Cecil trained Pushy (this filly later won the Cornwallis Stakes with Mercer riding) and the Ascot Gold Cup on Le Moss. Le Moss was also proving difficult to train and it was difficult to get him to exert himself on the gallops. There was no such problem in the race where Mercer took up the running a long way out and held off the strongly fancied Irish colt Ardross. For the second year running Le Moss completed the Stayer’s Triple Crown beating Ardross in both the Goodwood Cup and the Doncaster Cup, despite having to give Ardross, the next year’s Ascot Gold Cup winner and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe second, weight in both races. Mercer completed a four-timer at Royal Ascot with his victory on John Sutcliffe’s Tender Heart in the Royal Hunt Cup.

By mid-summer rumours as to who would ride for whom the following season were rife. It had been made known that Lester Piggott was severing his partnership with the Sangster- Magnier Vincent O’Brien stable at Ballydoyle and also Mercer had been told that Pat Eddery (Peter Walwyn’s stable jockey) had been approached by representatives of Cecil’s stable as to his availability the next season. Mercer met with Walwyn at a function at Walwyn’s stable and said that he already knew that he would not be riding for one owner (Charles St. George) in 1981 and inquired as to Walwyn’s plans as given that situation he would be willing to become Walwyn’s stable jockey if he needed one. The result of all this was a switch round of stable jockeys in early September with Eddery becoming Vincent O’Brien’s stable jockey, Piggott becoming Cecil’s and Mercer at last becoming Peter Walwyn’s. Walwyn had always expressed the opinion that Mercer was his ‘beau ideal’ as a stable jockey.

The announcement of this was made at the Doncaster St Leger meeting where Mercer rode St. George’s Gielgud to victory in the Champagne Stakes. This colt was not Cecil’s only good two year old colt as he had had Mercer also win the July Stakes on Age Quod Aegis for Wildenstein in July. On the Saturday of the Doncaster meeting Mercer chose to blunt the speed of his main rival Water Mill (Carson/Hern) in the St. Leger Stakes by leading from the start and ultimately winning the final classic by 4 lengths on Jim Joel’s Light Cavalry.

In 1981 the strength of Peter Walwyn’s stable could not compare with the powerful stable of the early-to-mid-1970s. Ravaged by the virus from 1978 onwards he had both lost owners and become second choice for others. Owners such as Stavros Niarchos had taken horses away from Walwyn at the end of 1979 (including Nureyev), while Louis Freedman and Lord Howard de Walden, who seemed to favour Walwyn earlier in the 1970s, now preferred to send their better animals to Henry Cecil. Walwyn did not have the calibre of horse of earlier years and won only one Group race in 1981 when Travel On won the Cherry Hinton Stakes at the Newmarket July meeting. Mercer’s only other big winner for Walwyn was Halsbury, who Mercer rode to win the Cesarawitch Handicap at the end of the season.

Mercer had only 64 winning rides, but 1981 was not a complete write-off for Mercer. He benefitted from the misfortune of Willie Carson, who fractured his skull in a fall at the York August meeting. With no stable jockey Hern used several jockeys as replacements for Carson and often used Mercer. Although Mercer did not ride the Queen’s Height of Fashion in her first race, when winning the Acomb Stakes at York (Piggott rode), he did ride her in her two other, both winning, runs: the last of which was the Fillies Mile at Ascot. Her second victory was in the May Hill Stakes at Doncaster and this formed the second leg of a memorable double. Earlier on the card Mercer rode the Sir John Astor owned Cut Above in the St. Leger for Hern. This was being treated as Hern’s second string as Lester Piggott was riding Lady Beaverbrook’s colt Bustomi, who was a shorter price. However the odds on favourite was the dual Derby winner Shergar who was confidently expected to take his second British Classic. On his 28-1 shot Mercer wound up a long run from four furlongs out and in the final furlong came away from his field with Gold and Ivory second, Bustomi third and the disappointing favourite Shergar a well-beaten fourth. Mercer also rode the Sobell/Weinstock colt Prince Bee for Hern to win the Valdoe Stakes at Goodwood and preferred this colt to Cut Above when Hern sent the two colts unsuccessfully for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

The following season was again tough for Mercer and other than winning the Cambridgeshire Handicap for Luca Cumani on Century City he had few winners of note and rode only 58 winners in the season. He did however look to have a fine chance of winning the Derby. Pat Eddery rode Jeremy Tree’s Peacetime to win the Sandown Classic Trial. The colt had had breathing problems and an operation had seemed to cure those as he won well. As Eddery would ride for the O’Brien stable in the Derby, Mercer was engaged to take over and the partnership smoothly won the Predominate Stakes at Goodwood beating Touching Wood. In the Derby Mercer rode the classic race being in the first 4 coming into the straight and travelling as well as any other horse. However when the pressure was applied Peacetime folded as if the breathing problems had returned. He was unplaced behind Golden Fleece with Touching Wood second.

1983 was a more interesting year and could have been even more important. Mid-season Mercer broke his own rule of not telephoning trainers to enquire as to possibility of a ride. Having been ‘jocked off’ earlier in his career he had stuck to this principle. The circumstances were that Billy Newnes the stable jockey to Derrick Candy’s son Henry’s stable had been injured on the gallops and was unable to ride the previous year’s Oaks winner Time Charter in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. Urged by his wife Mercer rang Henry Candy and was reunited with the Kingstone Warren stable. Mercer rode a perfect race on the filly and won his second King George from Diamond Shoal.

Later in the season he was to benefit from a dispute between Lester Piggott and Daniel Wildenstein. Wildenstein had been unhappy with Piggott’s riding of his two-year-old colt Vacarme in the Richmond Stakes. Later when Piggott turned down the ride on his filly All Along (trained by Patrick Biancone) in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe he decided Piggott would never ride for him again. Mercer was offered the ride on All Along but turned it down as he had already been retained by Dick Hern to ride Sun Princess’s pacemaker Sailor’s Dance (Sobell/Weinstock). The ride went to Walter Swinburn who went on to win the Arc and three other Grade 1 races in North America on All Along. Despite this Wildenstein was impressed with Mercer’s loyalty and Mercer rode most of the horses Cecil trained for Wildenstein for the rest of the season. Mercer rode the favourite Vacarme in the Middle Park Stakes but the colt was only a disappointing third. He did however ride the same owner’s Legend of France to win the Joel Stakes. By now Mercer was often riding for Charles Nelson and rode a very promising filly called Mahogany to win the Rockfel Stakes, who became strongly fancied for the next year’s One Thousand Guineas. This and Time Charter’s win helped to make up for the low number of winners, 55, he rode that year.

The Spring Meeting week of 1984 was almost as it used to be and Mercer won the two main classic trials at Newbury when Mahogany won the Fred Darling Stakes and the same trainer’s Creag an Sgor won the Greenham Stakes. Mahogany was made favourite for the One Thousand Guineas. Prominent for a long way in the big race she then faded badly as if there was something wrong with her. Creag an Sgor was outclassed in the Two Thousand Guineas.

Mercer retained the Wildenstein rides with Cecil and again won on Legend of France (Earl of Sefton Stakes). Soon after Mercer rode this colt as favourite at Royal Ascot and after a disappointing run there was an argument between Cecil and Wildenstein. Soon after Wildenstein removed his horses from Cecil’s yard. The rides therefore dried up for Cecil. Mercer did reunite with Time Charter again but compared with the last year the results were not as positive. Billy Newnes had been suspended for the season and so Mercer was retained again, but before the filly’s first race of the season he himself picked up a suspension and so missed both Time Charter’s victory in the Coronation Cup at Epsom as well as his ride in the Epsom Derby, severing a run of more than 30 consecutive rides in the Epsom classic.

Time Charter’s next race was the Eclipse Stakes for which she was favourite. Mercer held up the filly for her late finish but did not get a clear run and finished a fast finishing second to Sadler’s Wells. He received some criticism for this performance but retained the ride on Time Charter for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Time Charter was fifth behind Teenoso in this race and Mercer was not asked to ride her again in her remaining (unsuccessful) races. On King George day Mercer did have an interesting winner when Peter Walwyn’s, two year old debutant, Khozaam won the Granville Stakes in impressive style. He followed this up with an equally impressive victory in the Washington Singer Stakes at Newbury. Khozaam finished off his season with a close second to Reach in the Royal Lodge Stakes, despite being hit over the head by Reach’s jockey’s whip. Mercer rode 49 winners in 1984.

Popular sentiment was that Mercer was continuing to ride because of the chance of Khozaam in the 1985 Derby, but the idea of this horse achieving that feat was soon erased as Khozaam ran poorly in the Blue Riband Stakes at Epsom in April. He failed again in the Lingfield Derby Trial and had not trained on and was a failure as a three year old. It was no surprise when Mercer decided to announce his retirement from the saddle in the middle of the Goodwood summer meeting. Mercer did ride several good winners in his last year, the most important of which were Walwyn two year olds. The best was Stalker who was consistent all year and won both the Gimcrack Stakes and the Middle Park Stakes, as well as two other races. This was Walwyn’s first Group One victory since the late 70s. There was also a slower to mature two year old called Luqman, who Mercer rode to win four races, although he missed his biggest day when Luqman won the Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury, with Stalker (Mercer aboard) coming second. For Charles Nelson Mercer rode his only Royal Ascot winner on another two year old Marouble in the Norfolk Stakes.

The final day of the 1985 season was at Doncaster and this was to be Mercer’s farewell to UK flat racing. Although he had a few rides his best chance of a win was presented to him by Jeremy Hindley and Michael Hills. Hills was to ride the favourite in a two year old race called Comme l’Etoile for his stable, but elected to step aside so Mercer could have a chance of riding a final winner for a stable he’d been long associated with. Mercer duly won on Comme l’Etoile and this seemed a perfect ending. Except that later on the card he rode a relatively unfancied colt called Bold Rex in the Manchester November Handicap. In very soft going Mercer kept this John Dunlop trained colt towards the rear but steered him up the centre of the course to win a final big victory. The horse and jockey were cheered loudly all the way from the course to the unsaddling enclosure.

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