Earliest meeting: Monday 19th September 1859
Final meeting: Tuesday 29th September 1874
Pains Lane was a village in Shropshire, close to Oakengates and Telford, which held its first races on Monday 28th September 1840. Meetings continued in the village for over 30 years, but it was renamed St Georges in 1859. The meetings coincided with Colliery Wakes week in late September or early October and were usually held on the Monday and Tuesday. The 2 day meeting on Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th September 1859 was the first time that Pain’s Lane had become St George’s, and the opening race, the Hack Stakes, went to Mr Segar’s Speculation. The feature was still known as the Pain’s Lane Stakes and went to Mr Turner’s Melbourne. Before racing a dinner was available at the George Inn for just 1 shilling, with an Ordinary served at the same venue after racing. Ten years later the feature was now known as the St George’s Stakes and was won by Mr T Wadlow’s Ada Penelope. Meetings continued under rules for a further 5 years until the final card was staged on Tuesday 29th September 1874.
The 4th October 1840 edition of Bell's Life and the Sporting Chronicle reported on the Pain's Lane/St George's meeting:-
Monday 5th October 1846
The Priors Lee Selling Stakes
1. Florine owned by Mr Davenport
2. Union Jack owned by Mr Luke
3. The Bird owned by Mr Palmer
The Freezland Cup over 2 miles
1. Rosa owned by Mr Waring
2. Unnamed gelding by Young Cadland owned by Mr Haynes
3. Carissima owned by Mr Stapleford
The feature race at the October 1846 meeting was The Pain's Lane Stakes. Details of the race are shown below. The winner was Carissima ridden by Sam Darling jnr, the father of the great Sam Darling.
Sam Darling was born at Bourton-on-the Hill, Glos on 11th March 1852. His grandfather, also called Sam, was a jockey who won the 1833 St Leger on Rockingham. His father, also Sam, was the jockey on board Carissima in the race shown above. In a 3 month period in 1846 he rode at no less than 5 different tracks, results of which are shown below. The most famous of the Sam Darling's treasured the China Racing Cup his father won at Pain's Lane aboard Carissima and left it as a personal, named item in his will.
I am grateful to Paul Mathieu for the scan of the China Racing Cup won by Sam Darling's father aboard Mr Stapleford's Carissima at Pain's Lane on Monday 5th October 1846.
I am grateful to David Cooke for the rare images of the 1852 trophy presented at Pain's Lane to Mr Smith, owner of the chestnut filly Ferret (2/1 fav) winner of the Pain's Lane Stakes, which took place on Monday 27th September 1852.
By 1859 the meeting previously known as Pain's Lane was renamed St George's. In 1861 the principal race on Monday 30th September 1861 was the St George's Stakes twice round and the distance and was won by Mr Price's Holdersyke. The full result is shown below.
Monday 19th September 1869
St George’s Stakes over 1 ¼ miles
1. Ada Penelope, aged mare owned by Mr T Wadlow
2. Buxton, aged horse owned by Mr Owston
3. Kitty, aged mare owned by Mr S McLeon
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
