View source for Henri Jelliss

{{short description|Belgian jockey}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}

{{Infobox horseracing personality
|name = Henri Jelliss
|image = File:H Jellis, jockey, cigarette card.jpg
|caption = Henri Jelliss in the colours of Lord Stanley, from a 1936 Gallaher's cigarette card
|occupation = [[Jockey]] and [[Racehorse trainer|trainer]]
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1891|11|23|df=y}}
|birth_place = [[Mons, Belgium|Mons]], Belgium
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1971|01|16|1891|11|23|df=y}}
|death_place = 
|height = 
|career wins = 
|race = '''[[British Classic Races]]:'''<br/>(as a jockey)<br/>[[St Leger Stakes]] (1927)<br/>[[Epsom Oaks|Oaks Stakes]] (1929, 1935)<br/>(as a trainer)<br/>[[2,000 Guineas]] (1946)<br/>'''Other major races:'''<br/>[[Nunthorpe Stakes]] (1935)
|awards = 
|honours = 
|memorials = 
|horses = [[Book Law]], [[Happy Knight]], [[Pennycomequick (horse)|Pennycomequick]], [[Quashed]], [[Shalfleet]]
|weight = 
|website = 
|updated = 22 October 2023
}}

'''Henri Jelliss''' (November 23, 1891 – January 16, 1971) was a Belgian [[jockey]] and [[racehorse trainer|trainer]], who won three [[British Classic Races|British Classics]] as a jockey in the 1920s and 30s and a further one as a trainer in the 1940s.

==Riding career==
Henri Albert Jelliss was born in [[Mons, Belgium|Mons]], Belgium, on 23 November 1891. His father was the 13-times Belgian Champion Jockey, Charles Jelliss.

Henri served his apprenticeship with [[Tom Jennings, Jr.]] and his first winner came in an apprentice race at [[Warwick Racecourse|Warwick]] on Beriberi on 6 April 1908. In 1910, he rode 39 winners at a weight of just six stone. In 1911, he landed a large stable gamble when winning the [[November Handicap]] on The Valet and another when winning the 1912 [[Cambridgeshire]] on Long Set for [[Solly Joel]].{{sfn|Mortimer|Onslow|Willett|1978|p=305}} In 1915, he rode over hurdles, finishing unplaced on his first ride, Little by Little, at [[Leicester Racecourse|Leicester]] on 26 January.<ref name=Jockeypedia/> Then, in 1921, he won the [[Cambridgeshire Handicap|Cambridgeshire]] on Yutoi.

It was some time before he experienced [[British Classic Races|Classic]] success in the 1927 [[St Leger Stakes|St Leger]].| He would go on to add two [[Epsom Oaks|Oaks]] victories - the first on [[Pennycomequick]] in 1929, the second a memorable short head victory in 1935 on [[Quashed]], the stable's second string.{{sfn|Mortimer|Onslow|Willett|1978|p=305}}

In 1934, he won the [[Ayr Gold Cup]] on Figaro, and in 1935, two valuable races - the [[Nunthorpe Stakes|Nunthorpe]] and [[Portland Handicap|Portland]] on sprinter Shalfleet. His last big win came in the 1936 Portland on the same horse.{{sfn|Mortimer|Onslow|Willett|1978|p=305}} But with opportunities limited because of his weight, at the end of the 1936 season he retired, alongside [[Freddie Fox (jockey)|Freddie Fox]], [[Bobbie Dick]] and [[Johnny Dines]].<ref name=Jockeypedia/>

==Training career==
After he retired as a jockey, he trained from his father-in-law's stable at Beverley House, Newmarket. His first runner was a horse he owned himself, Paladin, who won the Chaplin Plate at [[Lincoln Racecourse|Lincoln]] on the second day of the season under [[Bill Rickaby]]. Two years later he had a [[Royal Ascot]] winner when America, ridden by R. A. Jones won the [[Wokingham Stakes]].

Other owners who used his services were [[John Verney, 20th Baron Willoughby de Broke|Lord Willoughby de Broke]] and Sir William Cooke for whom he would train [[Happy Knight]] to win the 1946 [[2,000 Guineas]].

His final winner was Guitarist at Newmarket at the end of 1961. After retirement, he played golf and did gardening. He died aged 79 on 16 January 1971.

==Personal life==
On 25 September 1926, he killed two women whilst driving but was exonerated when the deaths were ruled accidental at a hearing on 7 October 1926.

His son, Charles Henri (1916–1982) was also a jockey.

He was best man at the wedding of fellow jockey [[Albert Whalley]].<ref name=Jockeypedia/>

==Major wins (as a jockey)==
{{flagicon|Great Britain}} '''Great Britain'''
* [[Nunthorpe Stakes]] - ''[[Shalfleet]] (1935)''
* [[St Leger Stakes]] - ''[[Book Law]] (1927)''
* [[Epsom Oaks|Oaks Stakes]] - (2) - ''[[Pennycomequick (horse)|Pennycomequick]] (1929), [[Quashed]] (1935)''

==Major wins (as a trainer)==
{{flagicon|Great Britain}} '''Great Britain'''
* [[2,000 Guineas Stakes]] - ''[[Happy Knight]] (1946)''

==See also==
*[[List of jockeys]]

==References==
{{reflist|2|refs=

<ref name=Jockeypedia>
{{cite web |publisher=Jockeypedia |title=Henri Jelliss |url=https://sites.google.com/view/jockeys-j/henri-jelliss |access-date=23 October 2023}}
</ref>

}}

==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 |isbn=0-354-08536-0}} <!-- Mortimer et al. 1978 Encyclopedia -->

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jelliss, Henri}}
[[Category:Belgian sportspeople]]
[[Category:1891 births]]
[[Category:1971 deaths]]