Sam Loates

Ward's chromolithograph presents the champion jockey Samuel Loates in stable dress rather than racing silks: a long camel-coloured overcoat reaching below the knee, polished black riding boots, and a dark peaked cap with a slight feather trim. He stands side-on, hands clasped behind his back, a long whip angled over one shoulder — the posture of a man surveying the gallops with proprietary calm. The caricature follows Ward's habitual formula: an outsized, fleshy nose and a downturned mouth anchor a face of exaggerated gravity, the body rendered slender and almost weightless beneath the voluminous coat. Loates won the Derby three times (1893, 1895, 1896) and was among the leading jockeys of his generation; Vanity Fair's choice of him reflects the magazine's consistent attention to turf celebrity alongside political and military distinction.