General Sir Randle Guy Feilden (1904-81), known as Gerry, is the subject of a limited handicap hurdle at Newbury’s late November meeting. Born into an Army family, he joined the Coldstream Guards and found his niche in administration, serving in a high-level quartermaster role under Montgomery during WW2 and collecting a hatful of decorations including a CBE.
Together with various ceremonial roles and honours his long service for the Jockey Club, including a term as Senior Steward, added weight to his CV. In 1965 he brought about the introduction of starting stalls (though this was 20 years after they appeared abroad) and five years later the Jockey Club was the first sporting body to receive a Royal Charter.
NEWBURY
His death prompted the renaming in 1982 of his local track Newbury’s Berkshire Hurdle – a good class event with a fine roll of honour in the 1970s, including Comedy of Errors, Lanzarote, Dramatist and Beacon Light. Contrary to what Wikipedia says, the Gerry Feilden Hurdle did not begin in 1954. For an administrator, in their fifties, some way from the end of their working life, and only being a Jockey Club steward for acouple of years, to be rewarded with a race name would have been incredible.
The standard declined but subsequent Champion Hurdlers Rock On Ruby and Epatante won it in 2011 and 2019. It used to be a Listed race, but from 2022 it was a limited handicap.
NEWMARKET
Also in 1982, Newmarket honoured him by instituting the Gerry Feilden Memorial for three-year-olds at the Craven meeting. Shortened in 1987 to the Feilden Stakes, it can throw up some classic contenders. The prime example is Golden Horn, who went on to win the Derby in 2015.