He recorded his 6,000th career victory aboard Prince Scorpion John Eric Longden was born in Wakefield, England, on Feb. 14, 1907, and was a youngster when his parents booked passage for America on a new ocean liner, the Titanic. The horse's legs are churning, and his ears are pinned flat to his head. George Royal in the prestigious San Juan Capistrano Handicap, Longden came from 15 lengths behind to win by a nose. His family settled in Canada, and Longden and his father worked in mines in Alberta until, at the age of 20, he decided to become a jockey. By now Longden, the only man to have both ridden and trained Kentucky Derby winners, seems at least as old as his guardian angel. Longden led the nation in races won or purse money earned five times and was named to thoroughbred racing's Hall of Fame in 1958. Johnny, sitting between Vance and Kathy, is agitated during the warmup, grasping his cane so hard that his knuckles turn white. Stephanie Diaz writes frequently about equine subjects for Sports Illustrated. In 1950, Longden rode the Irish-bred Noor to four consecutive victories over Citation, A lonely little old man. After his riding career ended in 1966, Longden turned to training horses and met with uncommon success. Longden’s father emigrated from England to Taber, Alberta, in 1909. "Johnny Longden". He had been in failing health for several years and had a stroke last August. One neighbor who responded, Kathy, a widow who worked in the village, made a particularly strong impression on him. It was a smashing exit. "There he is now," the 87-year-old gnome rasps, pointing his cane toward the shimmering California sky. "Couldn't do lighter than 115 when I was riding." John Eric "Johnny" Longden (February 14, 1907 – February 14, 2003) was an American Hall of Fame jockey who was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England. Count Fleet had the character, or personality. Johnny is transfixed as he watches his horse fly to the finish, just missing out on third place. And after the workouts he would head over to the track kitchen to play gin rummy with the backstretch workers. Three years ago it wouldn't have seemed possible. Lark. He had been bedridden at his home in Banning for four months. This was also a trying time for Vance, whose career as a trainer had ebbed considerably since the 1970s. McIntosh, A.,, & West, J., Johnny Longden (2019). ", The stress of his wife's death and disappointment over her will took a toll on Johnny, who began to suffer an irregular heartbeat; a pacemaker had to be installed later that year. '55 grass champion St. Vincent, and Four and Twenty, winner of several stakes races in 1961 and '62. By 1912, Longden Sr. had saved enough money to send for his wife and young son to join him in Canada. Johnny Longden, the British-born jockey who rode 6,032 winners in a racing career that covered nearly 40 years, including a sweep of the 1943 Triple Crown aboard Count Fleet, died yesterday in Banning, Calif. Riding in the San Juan Capistrano Handicap, Longden brought his horse from far back in the pack up to seventh place after a mile, to fifth place on the far turn and then took dead aim on the leader, Plaque, at the head of the homestretch. In the Preakness, nobody wanted to run at him. However, the Longdens' train was late getting to the port of Southampton, and they missed their scheduled voyage to New York City on the Titanic. But both Johnny and Hazel were lonely and never quite adapted to life without each other. The two were on a train to Southampton to board a ship to New York but the train was late and the ship, the Titanic, sailed without them. In 1984, Johnny and his wife, Hazel, divorced after 48 years of marriage. The couple's savings would be divided equally. He spent his weekends racing quarter horses and also performed as a “Roman rider” (standing on the backs of two horses) at the Calgary Stampede. Johnny waves to the crowd, and once again he is the Pumper, angel on his shoulder. Bill Shoemaker When Longden won his 4,871st race in 1956 at Del Mar, he became the No. Majestic Prince’s victory in the 1969 Kentucky Derby made Longden the only person in history to both ride and train a Kentucky Derby winner, an accomplishment that was ranked No. According to a possibly apocryphal family legend, they arrived later than planned because they missed their ship — the Titanic.While still a teenager, Longden went to work with his father in the coal mines. "He's too damn smart, that's the problem," says Longden. Riding in the middle years of the 20th century, he won more races than any other jockey , a record that stood until Bill Shoemaker broke it in 1970. His … Longden not only won the Kentucky Derby as a rider (Count Fleet, 1943) but also as a trainer (Majestic Prince, 1969). In, George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, Santa Anita Racetrack (1952), Inductee, National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame (1958), Inductee, Alberta Sports Hall of Fame & Museum (1986), Inductee, Fairgrounds Racing Hall of Fame (1995). Our Blue Michael has won only once, but to Johnny (left) and Vance he's still a champ. He planted orchids in his tiny garden. Johnny had not made much money from the horses he owned after the divorce, and over the years he trained fewer and fewer horses, retiring by 1990. In 21 starts -- all with Longden riding -- Count Fleet never finished out of the money: he won 16 times, ran second four times and third once. "If I buy him, will you train him?". The tram arrived at the dock just as the ship sailed off. But his enduring fame rested on his exploits as the rider on John D. Hertz's Count Fleet, who in 1943 won the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes. "When that horse runs, Dad walks and talks like he's 30 years old. As he removes his sunglasses to appraise a heavy-lidded horse rocking drowsily in stall number 5, he tells Vance, the horse's trainer and one of Longden's sons, "Count Fleet never slept before a race." Longden's mother Mary, two sisters, and Johnny had reservations to cross the ocean to New York. Count Fleet, here with trainer Don Cameron, carried Longden to his Triple Crown, in 1943. "Actually, he's taller than me.". It was the birthday cake for Johnny Longden. As a young man, Johnny Longden worked in … This ordinary little horse has given the extraordinary old jockey a new lease on life. But while he uses a cane because of the arthritis in his back, the old jockey exudes vitality as he shuffles about the saddling ring at Santa Anita Park in suburban Los Angeles. On this day in February, Blue is entered in a six-furlong allowance race at Santa Anita. (en) ジョニー・ロングデン（John Eric Longden 1907年2月14日 - 2003年2月14日）は、イギリス（イングランド）ヨークシャー州ウェイクフィールド出身の、アメリカの元騎手で、元調教師。 One of Longden’s greatest achievements was training and riding Count Fleet to the Triple Crown (victories in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes) in 1943. His jockey, apprentice John Atherton (who is married to Johnny's granddaughter Trudy), swings Blue to the outside, where he begins to pick up speed. "They've got penicillin for sick people; they've got horses for guys like my dad," says the 64-year-old Vance. He's not out on the streets, and that's what is important. Movie star Jayne Mansfield with jockeys Johnny Longden, Eddie Arcaro and Willie Shoemaker (left to right) at the Jockeys' Ball in Los Angeles, California, 1957. 4,871 aboard Arrogate in the Del Mar Handicap in 1956. Though he hasn't ridden a racehorse in almost 30 years, the Pumper, as Longden was known in his riding days because of his hard-driving style, can still rouse one, even one as phlegmatic as Our Blue Michael. "Dad seemed to change overnight once he moved out to Banning," says Vance, who is Johnny's son by his first wife, Helen. In, McIntosh, Andrew, and J. Thomas West, "Johnny Longden". She knew how he squandered money, and she felt that this was the only way to make sure he'd always have a roof over his head. Longden then enjoyed much success in a 23-year career as a trainer. Three years later he saddled Majestic Prince, who won the Kentucky Derby, giving Longden the distinction of being the only man to ride a Derby winner and to train one. "Fourth place, that's $3,000," Johnny says to Vance, who is holding his father's arm as they make their way down the long stairway to the track. Longden retired from training in 1990 with 370 victories. ", Yet Our Blue Michael has done much more for Longden than his paltry $33,775 in lifetime earnings would indicate. Johnny, his four siblings and their mother, Mary, were scheduled to sail to their new home in Canada, where they would join Johnny's father, Herb, but their tram to the Liverpool dock was running late. Other notable horses he rode include Berseem, Porterhouse, Silver Spoon, St. Vincent and T.V. He became one of the greatest riders in history and took the career victory title with No. John Eric Longden, jockey (born 14 Feb 1907 in Wakefield, England; died 14 February 2003 in Banning, California). All Rights Reserved. Longden remembers his mother in tears, clutching six tickets in her hand, as they watched the ship steam off, the word Titanic barely visible on its bow. Eric, who is a part owner of a restaurant in Carlsbad, Calif., sold the Arcadia house in 1991 and bought his father a small duplex in a retirement village in Banning, 1½ hours from Johnny's beloved Santa Anita. At 87, Johnny Longden has been rejuvenated by a sleepy-eyed colt, © 2020 ABG-SI LLC. Johnny Longden Born in England, his family had reservations on the Titanic, but somehow “missed the boat” and later settled in Canada. In 1985, after Hazel was found to have breast cancer, they remarried. Longden was the first North American jockey to ride 4,000 winners, a feat he accomplished on 15 May 1952. "Ah, they always told me that," he says. ... England had prevented Johnny and his mother from boarding the initial voyage of a ship called The Titanic. He could win at any distance, on any kind of track. Majestic Prince also won the Preakness but lost his bid for a Triple Crown in the Belmont. Do [ after she died ], '' Longden said every step of the were... 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