# Jem Chapple
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{{Use British English|date=February 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}}
{{Infobox horseracing personality
| name = Jem Chapple
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| image =
| caption =
| occupation = [Jockey](/source/Jockey)
| birth_date = 1801/1802
| birth_place = [Exeter](/source/Exeter), [Devon](/source/Devon)
| death_date = 10 June 1858
| death_place =
| resting_place = [Eriswell](/source/Eriswell), [Suffolk](/source/Suffolk)
| resting_place_coordinates =
| height =
| weight =
| career_wins =
| race = '''Major races'''
[Epsom Derby](/source/Epsom_Derby) (1833, 1838)
[Epsom Oaks](/source/Epsom_Oaks) (1833)
| awards =
| honours =
| memorials =
| horses = [Amato](/source/Amato_(horse)), [Dangerous](/source/Dangerous_(horse)), [Vespa](/source/Vespa_(horse))
| url =
| module =
}}
'''James "Jem" Chapple''' (1801/1802 - 10 June 1858) was a [British](/source/British_people) [Classic](/source/British_Classic_Races)-winning [jockey](/source/jockey). A "first-class and thoroughly English jockey"[ he won the [Derby](/source/Epsom_Derby)-[Oaks](/source/Epsom_Oaks) double in 1833, and a further Derby in 1838.
==Career==
He was born in [Exeter](/source/Exeter), [Devon](/source/Devon) in 1801 or 1802, but learnt his trade at [Frank Neale](/source/Frank_Neale)'s stable in [Newmarket](/source/Newmarket%2C_Suffolk). He lived in [Beccles](/source/Beccles), [Waveney](/source/Waveney_District), and apart from some time spent in [Northleach](/source/Northleach), [Gloucestershire](/source/Gloucestershire) - rode almost exclusively at Newmarket.][ On his riding, it is said he worked "like a galley slave".][
His greatest success came in 1833, when he won both the Derby and Oaks, riding [Dangerous](/source/Dangerous_(horse)) and [50/1](/source/odds) outsider [Vespa](/source/Vespa_(horse)) respectively. The former win was not without controversy, however, as it is reported that Dangerous was a four-year-old,{{sfn|Mortimer|Onslow|Willett|1978|p=14}}][ and thus ineligible for the Derby (a race for three-year-olds). He was also [lame](/source/lameness_(equine)) at the start, Chapple stating that he would not have given a pint of [porter](/source/porter_(beer)) for his chance.{{sfn|Mortimer|Onslow|Willett|1978|p=15}} He would go on to win a legitimate Derby in 1838 on the brown colt, [Amato](/source/Amato_(horse)). This was to be the only time the horse raced, as he was injured soon after winning and retired.][
After this, having won enough to fit his profession around his leisure time, Chapple rarely rode except for [Sir Gilbert Heathcote](/source/Sir_Gilbert_Heathcote%2C_4th_Baronet), Amato's owner. Late in his career, however, he made a significant return to the track ("as fresh as paint"][) when winning the 1850 [Autumn Double](/source/Autumn_Double) - the [Cesarewitch](/source/Cesarewitch_Handicap) on Mr Payne’s Glauca and the [Cambridgeshire](/source/Cambridgeshire_Handicap) on Mr. Gratwicke’s Landgrave.
His last ride came on the 5/1 unplaced favourite Songstress in the 1853 Cesarewitch.][
==Personal life==
Despite his success, Chapple did not have a particular enthusiasm for racing and never discussed it.][
His reputation was for being quiet, unassuming and thrifty,{{sfn|Mortimer|Onslow|Willett|1978|p=14}} and he never had substantial sums on a horse, unless he knew it had a lot in hand over its rivals.][ He was "quite one of the old school",][ shunning high fashion and frippery. He married Eleanor Jennings at St Mary’s Church, Newmarket on 9 Dec 1835 and they had one daughter, Letitia Eleanor.][
He was mentally alert to the end of his life, but after a period of long and gradual physical decline, he died on Thursday, 10 June 1858, leaving an estate of under £8,000.][ His age at death has been given as 62,][ but this would contradict his birth year given elsewhere.{{sfn|Mortimer|Onslow|Willett|1978|p=14}} He is buried at St Laurence and St Peter, [Eriswell](/source/Eriswell), [Suffolk](/source/Suffolk).][
The Hare and Hounds pub in Chalk Lane, Epsom, was renamed The Amato as a tribute to Chapple's 1838 Derby winner.][
== Major wins ==
{{flagicon|Great Britain}} '''[Great Britain](/source/Great_Britain)'''
*[Epsom Derby](/source/Epsom_Derby) - (2) - ''[Dangerous](/source/Dangerous_(horse)) (1833)'', ''[Amato](/source/Amato_(horse)) (1838)''
*[Epsom Oaks](/source/Epsom_Oaks) - ''[Vespa](/source/Vespa_(horse)) (1833)''
== References ==
{{reflist|2|refs=
][
{{cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/site/jockeypedia/chapple |title=James (Jem) Chapple |publisher=Jockeypedia |access-date=9 February 2015}}
]
[
{{cite news |title=Sporting Intelligence |work=Lincolnshire Chronicle |date=25 June 1858 |access-date=9 February 2015 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000354/18580625/020/0008| via = [British Newspaper Archive](/source/British_Newspaper_Archive)|url-access=subscription }}]
}}
== Bibliography ==
*{{cite book |title=Biographical Encyclopaedia of British Racing |last1=Mortimer |first1=Roger |last2=Onslow |first2=Richard |last3=Willett |first3=Peter |year=1978 |publisher=Macdonald and Jane's |location=[London](/source/London) |isbn=0-354-08536-0 }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapple, Jem}}
Category:1858 deaths
Category:English jockeys
Category:Year of birth uncertain
Category:Sportspeople from Exeter
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jem Chapple](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jem_Chapple) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jem_Chapple?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.