Roy Laidler

Roy Laidler

Kenneth Roy Laidler – he was known by his second name although the form book results listed him by his first initial – was the son of a barber from Windermere, in the Lake District. He had no experience of riding when entering Tot Kelso’s Penrith stable straight from school in May 1964, yet just six weeks later he rode his first winner.  

Aged 15, Roy guided the three-year-old filly Princes Diane III, owned and trained by Tot Kelso, to win the Lowther Apprentice Plate at Carlisle on July 2, beating 7/4 favourite Coq d’Or, the mount of Chris Johnson, by a length. 

More than a year elapsed before Roy rode his second winner, 8/1 chance Frosty, also trained by Tot Kelso, in the Alnmouth Handicap at Newcastle on August 2, 1965, beating 13/8 favourite, ridden by Brig Robson, by a length and a half. 

With the road system of the mid-1960s nothing like that of today, it would have been an unusual move for a Penrith-based owner-trainer to travel all the way from Cumberland to Kent for a humble £247 to the winner seller. Yet that was the journey Tot Kelso undertook with his three-year-old filly Sunoma for the Elham Apprentices’ Selling Handicap at Folkestone on September 8, 1965. Surprisingly, nobody down south appeared to take the hint and she was allowed to start at the generous odds of 25/1. Kelso obviously knew better and, with Roy in the saddle, she duly justified his belief, although it was a close run thing, prevailing by just a neck from Ray Still’s mount Silver Bouquet, with the third horse, Police Cadet, only a head behind them. Presumably, Kelso had her well backed to cover his outlay. He enjoyed a further bonus in that there was no bid for the winner at the post-race auction. 

Roy’s fourth and final winner came on 8/1 chance Royal Elegance, owned and trained by Arthur Thomas near Warwick, in the Lowther Apprentice Stakes at Carlisle – the same race in which he had ridden his first winner two years earlier – on June 30, 1966, taking the lead one and a half furlongs out and scooting clear to score by seven lengths. 

It was his sole success from 36 rides that year. He had started early, having ridden his first winner when just 15 years old, but by the time he was 18 his career was virtually at an end and he never won another race. 

Roy Laidler’s winners were, in chronological order:

1. Princess Diane III, Carlisle, July 2, 1964

2. Frosty, Newcastle, August 2, 1965

3. Sunoma, Folkestone, September 8, 1965

4. Royal Elegance, Carlisle, June 30, 1966