Eric Bailey

Eric Wellington Ward Bailey was born in 1909. He rode 28 winners under National Hunt rules, achieving his greatest successes on Pucka Belle, which he also owned and trained, in the 1936 National Hunt Chase, and on Winter Knight in the 1938 Cheltenham Foxhunters Challenge Cup. He also finished third on Pucka Belle in the 1937 Grand National.  

Pucka Belle was a top-class point-to-point mare. Mr Bailey, who lived at Glewstone Court, Herefordshire, bought her for £500 and went on to ride her in all but two of her future races. 

The partnership won six point-to-points in 1934. Installed evens favourite for that year’s Lady Dudley Cup, they pulled up turning for home after Mr Bailey had ended up with both reins on one side of her neck, the head lad having forgotten to fit martingale rings. 

They were unbeaten in six point-to-points in 1935, a campaign that started with a win at the Tedworth bona fide meeting at Windmillhill. They won a famous race for that year’s Lady Dudley Cup, getting up close home to beat the great point-to-point and hunter-chaser O’Dell by half a length. 

In 1936, Mr Bailey and Pucka Belle prefaced their National Hunt Chase victory by winning the Faber Cup at the Oxford University point-to-point, and by then finishing second in a Newbury hunter chase, despite Mr Bailey putting up 8lb overweight. After winning the National Hunt Chase by 15 lengths, they returned to Cheltenham the following month to win the Holman Cup Handicap Chase. 

In 1937, Mr Bailey rode Pucka Belle to victory in a handicap chase at Taunton and then finished third behind Royal Mail and Cooleen in the Grand National, despite having been hampered throughout by the riderless Drin. 

In 1938, he owned, trained and rode Winter Knight to win hunter chases at Sandown and Lingfield on the way to winning the four-mile Foxhunters’ Challenge Cup at Cheltenham, starting the 6-4 favourite and scoring by a length and a half. 

Among other good horses Mr Bailey owned, trained and rode were Little Briton, on whom he won four hunter chases during 1935 and 1936 including back-to-back renewals of the Lutwyche Cup at Hereford’s Easter Monday fixture; and Royal Gift, on whom he won four point-to-points and the Beaufort Hunt Cup Hunters’ Chase at the 1937 Beaufort Hunt National Hunt meeting.

He also owned, trained and rode Viznah to win hunter chases at Pershore and Shirley Park in 1937 and the following year’s Ladies’ Chase at Beaufort Hunt; and That’s Him, on whom he won a Chepstow handicap chase and dead-heated for Beaufort Hunt’s Ladies’ Chase in April 1939. 

Even better was Rudolph IV, on whom he finished second in the 1938 National Hunt Chase. Having earlier won at Newbury and Lingfield on him, the combination later that year landed a hat-trick of handicap chases at Colwall Park, Kempton and Sandown.

 He also did well with Royal Knight, winning a pair of two-mile novice chases at Cheltenham and Worcester in April 1940. He later won a two-mile handicap chase on him in January 1942. His somewhat unusual racing colours were ‘Prune, white stars, mauve sleeves, black cap’.

Eric Bailey died in Switzerland on November 20, 1985, aged 76. He left £1,304,869.