The Leading Apprentices of 1971

From the 1972 edition of Ruffs Guide to the Turf and the Sporting Life Annual...

"The Leading Apprentices of 1971"

Pat Eddery, Philip Waldron, Tony Ives, John Lowe, Mark Birch, John Higgins, Peter Madden, Robert Edmondson, Michael Kettle, Jock Wilkinson, and Jon Ware.

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Alec Kerr & Eddie "EC" Taylor

From Racing Review Magazine dated February 1950 - Articles about trainer Alec Kerr & Jockey Eddie "Silver Bow" Taylor.

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An ordinary day’s racing - Monday the 7th of April 1958

Three meetings at Newcastle, Birmingham, and Kempton Park...

  

Newcastle Card

Jockeys riding here included… Alec Russell, Jimmy Etherington, Geoff Littlewood, Edgar Britt, Eddie Larkin, Eddie Hide, Norman McIntosh, Johnny Greenaway, Walter Bentley, Chuck Spares, Tommy Lappin, Joe Sime, and Brian Connorton.

  

Birmingham Card

Jockeys riding here included… Tony Hide, Josh Gifford, Willie Snaith, Joe Mercer, Brian Swift, Billy Elliott, Jock Skilling, Charlie Patton, Tommy Masterson, Des Cullen, Frankie Durr, Snowy Fawdon, Denis Ryan, Dominic Forte, Mickey Greening, Keith Temple-Nidd, Paul Tulk, David East, Larry Parkes, and Charlie Gaston.

 Kempton Park Card

Jockeys riding here included… Harry Carr, Lester Piggott, Peter Robinson, Manny Mercer, Harry Sprague, Scobie Breasley, Doug Smith, Bill Rickaby, Jimmy Lindley, Charlie Smirke, Kipper Lynch, Stan Clayton, Duncan Keith, Ray Reader, Brian Jago, Jock Wilson, Derek Morris, Tommy Carter, Sammy Millbanks, Greville Starkey, Eddie Cracknell, and Geoff Lewis.

Results 

Runners and Riders at Lincoln March 1959

17th March 1959 Card for Lincoln Races

Results from Lincoln

Apprentice Riders of the highest class - Edward Hide certain to be a champion: Sam Armstrong’s boys would be a credit to Wootton School.

From the 1957 edition of Cope's Racegoer's Encyclopaedia

Apprentice jockeys mentioned - Eddie Hide, Peter Robinson, Paul Tulk, Nicky Pearson, Josh Gifford, Kipper Lynch, Wally Swinburn, Charlie Gaston, Geoff Lewis, Geordie Ramshaw, Duncan Keith, Tony Rawlinson, Denis Ryan, Percy Willett, Tommy Masters, Ron Armstrong, Walter Bentley, Ray Williams, and Greville Starkey.

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Best Apprentices of 1957 – “The Sam Armstrong Academy” won over 100 races

From the 1958 edition of Cope's Racegoer's Encyclopaedia

Apprentice jockeys mentioned - Dennis Walker, Eddie Hide, Greville Starkey, Bruce Hellier, Josh Gifford, George Atkinson, Paul Tulk, Nicky Pearson, Kipper Lynch, Michael Hayes, Colin Holman, Sean Beary, Brian Jago, Duncan Keith, Jimmy Uttley, Brian Connorton, Percy Willett, Walter Bentley, and Ron Armstrong.

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The best Apprentices of 1953 – Outstanding Ability of Swift, Povall, Hide, and Swinburn.

From the 1954 edition of Cope's Racegoer's Encyclopaedia

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Apprentices who will Ride Winners in Coronation Year

From the 1953 edition of Cope's Racegoer's Encyclopaedia

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More compelling evidence - Vakil-Ul-Mulk

Yet more compelling evidence that Vakil-Ul-Mulk just had to be the greatest racehorse that ever lived…

February 8^th 1968 - And the one and only Vakil-Ul-Mulk having taken on the very best three year olds in Europe some five years before in the Epsom Derby was now a busy eight year old campaigning over hurdles. No longer with John Meacock, Vakil-Ul-Mulk had presumably been head-hunted for his services by “Lieutenant-Colonel Guy Richardson Aymer Vallance” or “G. R. A. Vallance” for short… or even “Ricky Vallance” to his mates.

And get this… Vakil-Ul-Mulk wasn’t running in some selling hurdle at Fakenham or Buckfasteligh or even the little greyhound track for horses at Wye… he was in a hurdle race at classy Ascot no less! And furthermore the great horse was tackling an inmate of the powerful all conquering Fulke Walwyn stable, none other than the mighty Kirriemuir who had won the 1965 Champion hurdle!

Okay, before you say it… I know - Vakil-Ul-Mulk was receiving 18lbs from Kirriemuir… and so he should too as Kirriemuir was trained by one of the best NH trainers in the history of racing whilst poor old Vakil was lumped with Ricky Vallance as his trainer. I don’t know what it was with the great horse but he did seem to have crafted a very fine art of attracting eccentric trainers… Vallance was known to have stepped out in his underpants and slippers at six o'clock on a frosty morning and wash his hair in a tank of rainwater in the yard, and then later, he might dip his nine Maltese terriers in a washing machine! Furthermore his marital disputes with Mrs Vallance were apparently the stuff of local legend such as one row beginning with an oil-filled radiator flying out of a bedroom window… Vakil-Ul-Mulk must have been thinking "Come back John Meacock - all is forgiven”!

So for me the great horse was in a way covertly handicapped by the trainer and also it’s worth mentioning perhaps by the jockey too as Kirriemuir was to be ridden by the great Stan Mellor whilst poor old Vakil-Ul-Mulk had to make do with none other than Ben Hanbury. For all intents and purposes, and in the interests of fair play we really should assume that the two horses were meeting on level terms to be fair to both of them. Kirriemuir was probably expecting to jog round with poor old Vakil-Ul-Mulk seeing nothing more of him during the race other than his almighty backside but he hadn’t bargained for our horse’s tenacity or adaptability… and I say “our horse” because Vakil-Ul-Mulk was the people’s horse, the darling of the adoring public! Anyway to cut to the mustard Vakil-Ul-Mulk didn’t quite win the race but he did come near, finishing in a very respectable third place. And what of Kirriemuir? Well the nearest he got to being in front of Vakil-Ul-Mulk was in the betting and going around the paddock. Kirriemuir was sent off as favourite whilst Vakil-Ul-Mulk was an outsider sent off at 20/1… but of course Vakil-Ul-Mulk’s class shone through and he beat him easily as Kirriemuir was unplaced!

The Curtain comes down at Lanark

1977 - The curtain comes down at Lanark Racecourse

The last meeting at the track took place on the eighteenth of October 1977... Great to see that the opening race on the card carried the name of Peter Poston who was a regular at Lanark and the other Scottish tracks for many years, he had a runner in the race and it would have been great to see him sign off from Lanark with a winner but it wasn't to be. All in all a good day for the punters with five out of the seven favourites obliging although the honour of being the last ever winner at Lanark went to jockey John Lowe and trainer Bill Elsey with the 15/2 shot Bird of Fortune. 

The card for the final day

Results

A Memorable Day's Racing At Bogside

The Bogside card for July 19th 1957 and Alec Russell looks like he might have some good mounts.

Results from Bogside

Report from Bogside