James Wilson (trainer)

James "Old Jim" Wilson (26 December 1828 – November 1917) was a racehorse trainer in Victoria, Australia, founder of the historic St Albans Stud in Geelong, and trainer of the of 1873 Melbourne Cup winner Don Juan and 1876 winner Briseis. His older son James Wilson, Jr. (c. 1856 – 16 November 1935) captained the Geelong Football Club and as "Young Jim Wilson" trained 1889 Cup winner Merriwee, and younger son William Wilson (c. 1859 – 3 May 1890) was the jockey who rode Don Juan to victory in the 1873 Cup.

Wilson was born in Yorkshire and emigrated to Victoria in 1845, and was for a while engaged at Deep Creek, looking after a horse named Paul Jones. He moved to the Hamilton district, where he was involved in horseracing, and won the Great Western Steeplechase in 1859 and 1860. He brought Musidora and Ebor to Melbourne in 1862, and ran them in the 1862 Melbourne Cup, Musidora coming second to Archer. She also ran in the Melbourne Cups of 1864, 1865 and 1866, and was the dam of Briseis. Ebor was owned by Captain Lyons who raced as "J. C. James"; Wilson took her to Adelaide, where she won the 1865 Adelaide Cup. He trained Lapdog for J. Gilbert which ran a close second to Nimblefoot in the 1870 Melbourne Cup. He had another close second the following year with Romula for Joe "Leviathan" "King of the Ring" Thompson.

Wilson and Adam Lindsay Gordon were great friends, but in the saddle serious rivals in cross-country races in the Western Districts of Victoria. When Gordon gave up racing he gave his last saddle to Wilson's son James Wilson, Jr.

In 1872 Wilson founded St. Albans stud at Breakwater, a suburb of Geelong and the (now heritage-listed) homestead designed by James T. Conlan in the neighbouring suburb of Whittington was completed the following year. Within a few years He had made it the best known stable in Australia.

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