Henry Custance (27 February 1842 - 19 April 1908) was a British jockey who won the Derby three times in the 1860s and 1870s.

[1] Henry was born in Peterborough on 27 February 1842, the son of postman Samuel Custance and his wife Elizabeth Carpenter.

He began riding in pony races at Ramsey, Cambridgeshire at the age of 13, and won a contest for a saddle, when he weighed only four stone.

His first major success followed in the 1858 Cesarewitch Handicap aboard Rocket, a race he won again in 1861 on Audrey.

He had won the 2,000 Guineas at odds-on, although Custance had been injured in a fall at Epsom, so R Thomas had taken the ride.

His last winner was Lollypop in the All-Aged Stakes at Newmarket's Houghton meeting in 1879, before his weight battle forced him to retire after 24 years as a jockey.

[2] He was close friends with fellow jockey George Fordham, and was best man at his wedding and godfather to his eldest son.

[3] In a popular story, he saved Fordham from a losing cricketing bet with a bookmaker by stealing the ball so the match was declared void.