Nimblefoot (horse)

Nimblefoot was an Australian bred Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 1870 Melbourne Cup.[1]

Nimblefoot's owner, Walter Craig, dreamt four months before the race that his horse won the Cup but noted the jockey wore a black armband. Craig's prediction came true. His horse won the Cup and the jockey, John Day,[2][3] wore the armband in Craig's honour, as Craig had died of gout and pneumonia at the age of 45 on 16th Aug 1870, 3 months before the running of the race.[4]

Johnny Day, the jockey, was a notable person in his own right. As a child, he had been a leading figure in the sport of pedestrianism and travelled to England to compete against leading pedestrian athletes of the day[2] before returning to Australia and becoming a speed walking performer in the theatre, although it was said that his backers did not receive the profits they expected from supporting him.[5][6] After a dispute resulting from Day's abscondment from the trainer William Lang soon after the 1870 Melbourne Cup, Day was required to return to his apprenticeship[7] and continued to ride horses[8] until at least 1877 when he suffered a bad fall in a ride in Yarrawonga.[9] He died in 1885 in Inglewood of Addison's disease.[3]