Leslie Bunn

Leslie Bunn

Article by Alan Trout

Leslie Bunn rode briefly, without success, on the Flat at the start of the 1920s. Having already ridden under National Hunt rules he was not entitled to claim an allowance on the Flat under the rules then in place, hence he had to compete on level terms, so it was hardly surprising that he made little impression. It was a different story over jumps, though, for he rode 20 winners during the 1920s, returning a few years later to add one more.

His first win came at Ludlow on February 19, 1920, when his mount Cornongross won the Knighton Selling Handicap Chase by 20 lengths, beating three rivals, two of whom fell. He had his first ride on the Flat at Haydock Park on May 14 that same year, finishing unplaced on Golden Note in the Earlstown Selling Handicap, won by Ted Gardner on Special. Ten days later he recorded his second win over jumps when partnering Roubaix II to a 10-length success in the Grange Selling Hurdle at Cartmel’s traditional Whit Monday fixture.

Granted a trainer’s licence in 1921, it was thanks to the seven-year-old Lochar that he achieved a measure of success with six wins in 1921 and four in 1923, ridden on each occasion by Leslie himself. Another stable stalwart was Grecian Waters, who won four races and was also first past the post at Totnes on one occasion in 1923, only to be disqualified after Gilbert Wall, rider of the third-placed horse Gladesae, had successfully objected to the first two for going the wrong side of a post.

Leslie relinquished his trainer’s licence thereafter and did not have a winner as a jockey for over three years. He managed two during the 1926/27 season but then did not ride for several years. He had his final success at Stratford on April 4, 1936, when Stone Beer beat 17 rivals in the Kineton Selling Handicap Hurdle. Trained by Francis Cox, it was Stone Beer’s tenth run of the season and his first victory. Leslie kept the ride for Stone Beer’s next outing, finishing fourth at Hereford on Easter Monday, but was subsequently replaced by Keith Piggott.

He retained his National Hunt jockey’s licence until the 1938/39 season and rode on the Flat between 1936 and 1938 and from 1942 until finally relinquishing his licence in 1945. He again trained briefly at the end of World War Two.

Leslie Bunn’s winners were, in chronological order:

1. Cornongross, Ludlow, February 19, 1920

2. Roubaix II, Cartmel, May 14, 1920

3. Lochar, Temby Hunt, January 12, 1921 (walkover)

4. Royal Aid, Wolverhampton, March 7, 1921

5. Lochar, Wolverhampton, March 7, 1921

6. Lochar, Devon & Exeter, August 25, 1921

7. Lochar, Plymouth, August 31, 1921

8. Lochar, Totnes, September 7, 1921

9. Lochar, Uttoxeter, October 18, 1921

10. Poniard, Derby, December 20, 1921

11. Grecian Waters, Plymouth, September 7, 1922

12. Grecian Waters, Totnes, September 13, 1922

13. Lochar, Uttoxeter, April 16, 1923

14. Grecian Waters, Ludlow, April 27, 1923

15. Lochar, Folkestone, April 30, 1923

16. Lochar, Newton Abbot, May 9, 1923

17. Lochar, Newton Abbot, May 20, 1923

18. Grecian Waters, Totnes, September 13, 1923

19. Grand Duke II, Haydock Park, January 6, 1927

20. Arbilain, Wolverhampton, March 14, 1927

21. Stone Beer, Stratford-on-Avon, April 4, 1936