Earliest meeting: Monday 6th September 1824
Final meeting: Tuesday 7th September 1875
The small Staffordshire market town of Cheadle is located 11 miles from the city of Stoke and can trace its history back to Anglo-Saxon times. Just a mile from the town is the pleasure park of Alton Towers, but in the middle of the 19th century it was horse racing which provided the locals with their entertainment. The ‘County History of Staffordshire’ recorded that a meeting was held at Cheadle, on the Park Course, on Monday 6th September 1824 when Mr Coates’s Leaf beat Macrory to claim the Purse. Furthermore, James Whyte’s History of the British Turf noted that racing took place at Cheadle in 1838 when a one day meeting was staged in early September, ‘consisting of inferior racing.’ The course was an oblong with perimeter just over 6 furlongs and a straight run in of barely 2 furlongs. By 1839 the meeting was deemed sufficiently important to be included in Baily's Racing Register. Races continued annually and a 2 day meeting took place on Monday 9th and Tuesday 10th September 1861, opening with the Moorland Rifle Stakes which went to Mr Wright’s Twinkle. The Manor Stakes was won by Mr Coburn’s North Lancashire, and on the second day the Innkeeper’s Purse fell to Flotilla owned by Mr Price. Meetings continued for the next 14 years, although they were not included in the Racing Calendar, until the final two day meeting was staged in 1875. On Monday 6th September the races were held in fields owned by Mr Plant, while on Tuesday 7th September the races reverted to the Highfield Road course, 1 ½ miles from the town centre, when the Moorland Stakes was won by Jerry-go-Nimble from Champagne Charlie.
Monday 9th to Tuesday 10th September 1839
The Moorland Stakes over 2 ¼ miles
1. Taffy owned by Mr Phillips
2. Exorable owned by Mr Bradley
3. Viola owned by Mr Wascoe
The Cheadle Innkeepers’ Purse over 1 ½ miles
1. Lepidus owned by Mr Fowler
2. Rosetta owned by Mr W.Parker
3. Miss Ferguson owned by Mr W.Doncaster
The Cheadle Hurdle Race over 4 hurdles and 1 ½ miles
1. Duenna owned by Mr Godwin
Tuesday 5th to Wednesday 6th September 1843
The Moorland Stakes over 3 miles
1. Unnamed filly by Colwick owned by Mr Woodhouse
2. Fickle owned by Mr Daus
3. Water Lily owned by Mr Cook
The Cheadle Hurdle Stakes over 2 miles and 4 hurdles
1. Kate Kearney owned by Mr Taylor
The Cheadle Free Handicap over 2 miles
1. Fickle owned by Mr Daus
2. Water Lily owned by Mr Cook
Monday 5th September 1864
Manor Stakes over 1 mile
1. Lapidary, 5 year old owned by Mr Cherrington
2. Palkley, 5 year old owned by Mr J Oakden
3. Rosebud, 3 year old owned by Mr R Young
I am grateful to Ordnance Survey (© Crown Copyright) for permission to use the map shown below.
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Much of the information about this course has been found using internet research and is in the public domain. However, useful research sources have been:-
London Illustrated News
Racing Illustrated 1895-1899
The Sporting & Dramatic Illustrated
Northern Turf History Volumes 1-4 by J.Fairfax-Blakeborough
The Sporting Magazine
A Long Time Gone by Chris Pitt first published in 1996 ISBN 0 900599 89 8
Racing Calendars which were first published in 1727
