Frederick James Archer (11 January 1857 – 8 November 1886), also known by the nickname 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".
He was Champion Jockey for 13 consecutive years until 1886, riding 2,748 winners from 8,084 starts, in so doing setting records for the number of Champion Jockey titles (13), number of wins in a season (246) and number of race wins (2748) which remained unthreatened until the arrival of Steve Donoghue and Sir Gordon Richards well into the 20th century.
Delirious from wasting and the loss of his wife during childbirth, he committed suicide at the age of 29.
Archer was born at St. George's Cottage, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire on 11 January 1857, the second son of jockey William Archer and Emma Hayward, daughter of publican William Hayward. His elder brother, William, was also a jockey as was his younger brother, Charles, later a trainer. He had at least one sister, Alice.
William Archer was a short, squat man, who had taken a stud of English horses to Russia in 1842, and the year after Fred was born won the Grand National on Little Charlie. He eventually became landlord of the King's Arms public house in Prestbury, near Cheltenham, of which his father-in-law was formerly proprietor. He taught Fred to box.
Emma was "a big, fine-looking woman with handsome aquiline features" who some presumed to have been of good stock. Fred was said to have inherited his spirit from her, even if he adopted his profession from his father. He was only semi-literate.
When Archer was two, the family moved to Prestbury, where he was educated and first learned to ride. A "quick, retentive, and exceedingly secretive boy", by the age of eight he was riding in pony and donkey races, losing his first match on a pony, against a donkey. This may have been one of two races he rode on a pony called Mossrose at Great Malvern. William disciplined him sternly to make him improve. He soon began winning races, even after breaking his leg while out hunting.
In contradiction of his later reputation as a miser, Archer would send money home to his family, who were always in debt. At first it was postal orders for a few shillings, but as his success grew, this increased to fivers and latterly big sums.
At the suggestion of a hunting acquaintance, William Le Terriere, Archer was apprenticed, for five years, to trainer Mathew Dawson at Heath House in Newmarket, Suffolk, now home to trainer Mark Prescott. Some sources say this was in February 1868, others that it was the day before his 10th birthday. He weighed 4st 11 lb. William and Fred spent a week there, after which Dawson told William, "He will do, Archer, you may leave him." Archer served Dawson as a stable jockey from 1874 until 1886. He married Dawson's niece, Helen Rose Dawson.
At Dawson's stable, the delicate Archer was bullied by the older boys, but with no children of their own, the Dawsons took him almost as a surrogate. Mrs Dawson called him "the little cat", and to Mr Dawson the relationship was close to father and son. His fondness for Mrs Dawson's cake and blackberry jam contributed to his weight gain, and over a good dinner, his weight could rise by 3 or 4 lb He grew to around 5 ft 10 and, over the winter, weighted 11st. He was largely illiterate when he left home but attended a night school run by Mrs Dawson during his early years there.
While at Dawson's, Archer came under the tutelage of Dawson's right-hand man Jockey Swift, who claimed to have taught Archer all he knew, and Tom French. Archer was evidently in high regard at the stable, receiving wages of seven guineas compared to the five guineas typical of apprentices. One of his fellow apprentices was in fact thrown from his horse and killed during Archer's time there. Despite his affection for the lad, Dawson demanded the same discipline of Archer as he did of other apprentices, making him stand to attention for visitors the same as any other lad. But he was aware of his ability. "I have a wonderful boy here who will do marvellous things," he commented.
Because of this, and his father's reputation, he was soon given race-riding opportunities. Aged 12, he was allowed to ride in the Newmarket Town Plate on 14 October 1869, on a three-year-old filly called Honoria. Acting as pacemaker for stablemate Stomboli, who won, Honoria came last. His first win was a steeplechase at Bangor-on-Dee in either 1869 or 1870 on a horse called Maid of Trent for an old pony-racing acquaintance of his family. His first official win under Jockey Club rules was in a two-year-old nursery handicap at Chesterfield on 28 September 1870 on a horse called Atholl Daisy. The horse was trained by John Peart at Malton, rather than Dawson. He finished the season with 2 wins and 9 seconds from 15 rides. His other winner was Lincoln Lass at Ayr.
There is a story, probably apocryphal, that Archer cried because he had not ridden both winners in a dead-heat.
Archer's first important win was on Salvanos in the 1872 Cesarewitch, for which he weighed out at 5st 7 lb. It is said he "rode Salvanos with the coolness and steadiness of a veteran and thus made his mark as one of the rising lightweights." When Jem Snowden rode against him for the first time, however, he commented, "Tha cassn't ride for nuts". His apprenticeship ended that year, and Dawson presented him with a gold watch inscribed for "good conduct". Archer in return commented, "I value this more than anything I have and shall keep it as long as I live."
In 1873, with leading stable jockey Tom French sick, Archer had more opportunity to succeed. He rode 107 winners and came second in the championship to Harry Constable. French, who was an influence on the young Archer, died later that year from consumption, brought on by excessive wasting.
The first of Archer's Classic wins followed the next season on Atlantic in the 1874 2,000 Guineas. This made him a "veritable mascotte" for his stable. After this, he became retained jockey for Lord Falmouth, for whom he won over half of his Classics. Falmouth was Dawson's principal owner between 1870 and 1883. Archer's retainer for him was a nominal £100. He finished 1874 with 147 wins from 530 rides. By now, he was riding at 6st, but weight was becoming a problem. For the Cesarewitch Handicap, he failed to make a riding weight of 6st 1 lb, putting up 3 lbs overweight and losing by a neck. Archer blamed wasting for taking his strength away.
Spinaway was the star filly of the following season, winning the 1,000 Guineas and Oaks double.
In 1877, he won his first Derby, on Lord Falmouth's Silvio, and followed up in the St. Leger.