Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement/Custance, Henry
CUSTANCE, HENRY (1842–1908), jockey, born at Peterborough on 27 Feb. 1842, was son of Samuel Custance, a post-boy, by his wife Elizabeth Carpenter. Devoted to horses and to riding from childhood, he rode at thirteen in a pony race at Ramsey, in Huntingdonshire, and afterwards won a contest for a saddle when he weighed four stone. Vainly seeking employment at Newmarket, he spent three years at Epsom, where he had 'a jolly, though rough, time 'in the employment of Mr. Edward Smith of South Hatch, who was associated with 'Bell's Life,' and raced his horses in the name of Mellish.
Custance's first important victory was gained on Rocket in 1858 in the Cesare witch which he won again in 1861 on Audrey The following year he attached himself to the Russley stable, then under the management of Matthew Dawson, and that season rode over forty winners. In 1860 he rode Thormanby to victory in the Derby. This was the first of three successes he scored in that race, the others being on Lord Lyon in 1866 and on George Frederick in 1874. In the Derby of 1861 he rode Dundee, who, breaking down during the race, was second to Kettledrum. He had a mount in the Derby for twenty consecutive years. Custance won the One Thousand Guineas on Achievement in 1867, and his solitary success in the St. Leger was gained on Lord Lyon in 1866. His last winning mount was on Lollypop in the All-Aged Stakes at the Newmarket Houghton meeting in 1879. As a jockey he was bold and resolute, had good hands, and was a fine judge of pace.
After his retirement from the saddle he long remained a familiar figure on the race-course. He held for many years a licence as deputy starter to the Jockey Club, and was also official starter to the Belgian Jockey Club. Living at Oakham, he regularly hunted with the Quorn and Cottesmore packs. He has always a cheerful and amusing companion, and published 'Riding Recollections and Turf Stories' in 1894, with a dedication to the duke of Hamilton, a good patron during his riding career. He died of a paralytic seizure at 53 New Walk, Leicester, on 19 April 1908. His will was proved for 8081l.
[Sporting Life and The Times, 20 April 1908; Ruff's Guide to the Turf; Custance's Riding Recollections, 1894.]