Earliest meeting: Tuesday 8th September 1840
Final meeting: Friday 4th August 1876
The Lancashire town of Radcliffe, near Bury, first held races on Radcliffe Bridge Racecourse on Tuesday 8th September 1840. The meeting was well attended and by 1846 had extended to a 3 day meeting in September when the feature Earl of Wilton Cup was won by Hooton owned by Mr Worthington. The racecourse was a flat, oval course of a mile with a straight of just under 4 furlongs on the Earl of Wilton’s private estate and could be reached from Manchester city centre, by train, in just 12 minutes. Racing continued for a further 30 years before the final meeting on Friday 4th August 1876 when the last Wilton Cup was won by Hippias.
Earl of Wilton, Sir J Gerard
Monday 7th to Wednesday 9th September 1846
The Heaton Park Stakes over 1 ½ miles
1. Maid of Auckland owned by Mr Wood
2. Lady Shrewsbury owned by Mr Owen
3. Alice owned by Mr Sutcliffe
The Earl of Wilton Cup over 2 ¼ miles
1. Hooton owned by Mr Worthington
2. Rowena owned by Mr A Johnstone
3. Miss Castling owned by Mr Osborne
The Bancroft Stakes over 6 furlongs
1. Credential owned by Mr R Peel
2. Comme-il-Faut owned by Mr Cranston
3. Unnamed filly by Liverpool owned by Mr L Brooke
The Manchester Cup over 1 ¾ miles
1. Pantasa owned by Sir J Gerard
2. Hooton owned by Mr Worthington
The Smyrna Stakes over 1 ½ miles
1. Fair Rosamond owned by Mr Carter
2. Maid of Auckland owned by Mr Wood
3. Delaine owned by Mr Abbott
Wednesday 30th August 1848
Manchester Cup over 1 ¾ miles
1. Morpeth, aged horse owned by Mr Robinson
2. Vanish, 5 year old owned by Sir C Monck
3. Smuggler Bill, 5 year old owned by Mr W Jones
I am grateful to Sue Slater for providing a link to the Radcliffe Cricket Club website whose ground is on the site of the old racecourse. The Earl of Wilton's extensive estate, developed around Heaton Hall, was less than 4 miles from Osbourne House, and today Osbourne Walk leads to the flats which are built on part of the old estate.
Thomas Egerton, 2nd Earl of Wilton
Thomas Egerton, born on 30th December 1799, was the second son of Robert Grosvenor and his wife, Lady Eleanor Egerton, daughter of Thomas Egerton, the First Earl of Wilton, In 1814 Thomas succeeded to the Earl of Wilton, becoming the 2nd Earl, aged just 14, despite being the second son, because of a special clause inserted by his maternal grandfather. However, it wasn’t until he became of age that he took his place in the House of Lords on 22nd June 1821, supported by the Earls of Bridgewater and Grosvenor. Thomas began to relinquish the name Grosvenor, preferring to use Egerton from his mother's side. His grandfather had owned the massive estate of Heaton Park, including Heaton Hall, and Thomas inherited this on the death of his grandfather. Thomas was a keen horseman, and an accomplished rider, and in 1827 he extended his interest in racing by establishing Heaton Park racecourse (http://www.greyhoundderby.com/Heaton%20Park%20Racecourse.html)
He had already cemented his position in horse racing circles in 1821 by marrying Lady Mary Stanley, daughter of the 12th Earl of Derby, Edward Smith-Stanley. The Stanley family not only had a significant interest in horse racing in the north of England, but also established Stanley House racing stables in Newmarket (http://www.greyhoundderby.com/Godolphin%20Stables.html)
Together the couple had 11 children, although 5 had died before their 5th birthday. Lady Mary had the last of her 11 children in 1842, and she died in December 1858. Although his primary interest was Heaton Park racecourse, in 1846 he agreed to the development of another course on his vast estate at Radcliffe. The meeting had taken place at an early date in a different location, but in 1846 it moved to the racecourse on his estate. At the inaugural 3-day meeting in September Thomas sponsored the feature Earl of Wilton Cup which won, appropriately enough, by Hooton owned by Mr Worthington. The racecourse was a flat, oval course of a mile with a straight of just under 4 furlongs on the Earl of Wilton’s private estate and could be reached from Manchester city centre, by train, in just 12 minutes. At that inaugural meeting in 1846 a certain John Osborne, born on 7th January 1833, was having his first ride in public aboard Miss Castling in the Earl of Wilton Cup when just 13 years of age. The horse broke down during the 2-mile race, and it was a further 2 years before Osborne won a race on Billy from Brigg at Ripon in 1848. John Osborne rode at Radcliffe races throughout his magnificent career, riding for a total of 46 years. He rode in 38 Epsom Derbies, although he only won it once, in 1869 aboard Pretender. However, Osborne did win the 2000 Guineas 6 times, the 1000 twice, the Oaks once and the St Leger twice. Racing continued for a further 30 years at Radcliffe, always supported by the Earl of Wilton, before the final meeting on Friday 4th August 1876 when the last Wilton Cup was won by Hippias. Four years before the end of racing at Radcliffe Thomas had secured his most prestigious win in racing by landing the 1872 St Leger at Doncaster with Wenlock, trained by Tom Wadlow and ridden by Charlie Maidment. (http://www.greyhoundderby.com/St%20Leger%201872.html)
Lord Wilton married Isabella Smith in September 1863, although the couple had no children, and Thomas died, aged 82, on 7th March 1883.
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
