Article by Chris Pitt
Flat jockey Alan Burrell was born in Gateshead on June 9, 1930, and served his apprenticeship with Ted Leader from 1944 to 1949. He rode his first winner on White Cockade at Birmingham on March 29, 1948.
He went to ride abroad in 1950 and enjoyed winners in Holland, Kenya and Bermuda. He rode briefly in Britain during the 1950s without success before returning on a permanent basis in 1960.
He rode one winner in 1961, on the David Thom-trained Whitehall Bloom at Yarmouth on August 9. He had one winner from 43 rides in 1962, this being on Newmarket trainer Peter Poston’s Faire La Nouba, a 25-1 shot, in a one-mile three-year-old maiden at Lincoln’s traditional start of the season meeting on March 27.
He kept his association with Poston but failed to score in 1963. However, he rode two more winners from 22 rides in 1964, both on Poston-trained two-year-olds, namely Grand Avenue at Catterick on April 11 and Mill Green at Hamilton on April 25.
Despite those two early successes, there were to be no more winners that year or for the remainder of his career, although he continued to hold a licence until 1971.
He died on December 17, 2017, aged 87.