Michael Tanner

The Demon Michael Tanner

The finest jockey rider on the English turf during the nineteenth century was George Fordham--lauded throughout the sport as the Demon.

Such was the judgment of his contemporaries from jockeys and trainers to owners and chroniclers. Yet history has not been kind to Fordham. Fate saw his career overshadowed by that of bitter rival Fred Archer, a jockey deemed his inferior but whose suicide invoked immortality.

The question remains: if Archer is fit to be mentioned in the same breath as twentieth-century icons Gordon Richards and Lester Piggott, just how good a jockey does that make the unsung George Fordham?

Acclaimed turf historian Michael Tanner shines a light on the life of this remarkable jockey and places him at long last atop the pedestal he deserves.