 Fordham was born the son of James Fordham in Cambridge on 24 September 1837.He was trained for the turf by Richard Drewitt and Edward Smith, and at the age of thirteen had his first ride at Brighton.George's first mount may have been on Cora [3yrs 5st 1lb] at Epsom [badly away and unplaced] on Tuesday 5 November 1850 for Mr Douglas.