William Lea

William Lea

c1890-1949

Article by Alan Trout

William Thomas Charles Lea was in born about 1890. He was apprenticed to Epsom trainer Richard Wootton, an Australian who had come to England a few years earlier with his talented jockey sons Frank and Stanley. William may also have been Australian but he made his mark in England with seven wins in 1908 and two in 1909, and then rode five more over jumps. 

He had his first ride in Britain when unplaced on Flower Saint in the Prince of Wales Stakes at Epsom on April 23, 1907. Almost a year to the day after that he had his first win when Lester Jim won the County Handicap at Alexandra Park by six lengths on April 25, 1908. Lester Jim was owned and trained by Richard Wootton, with his son Frank finishing third on Ashbelle. 

Among William’s other successes that year were two wins on the eight-year-old Japan and a dead-heat at Catterick on October 27 when his mount Pendant and Overdrawn, ridden by Arthur Flanagan, could not be separated after five furlongs. 

William’s second win of 1909 came on October 5 when, in heavy ground, Green Ribbon took the Stayers’ Selling Handicap at Folkestone. Although he took the occasional ride after that, there were no more successes on the Flat.

There were, though, some over hurdles. Two months after riding his last Flat winner, William made his debut over jumps on Lady Brenda at Gatwick on December 9, 1909, finishing unplaced. It was not until February 17, 1911 that he opened his account, when the four-year-old Exhilarate, owned and trained by Richard Wootton, won the Maiden Hurdle at Hurst Park.   

He did not ride over jumps in either 1912 or 1913 and had his final mount on the Flat on Ganador in the Doddington Selling Plate at Birmingham on August 4, 1914, although he is shown in the results as ‘W. Lee’ not Lea. With Britain about to declare war on Germany it is not surprising that the newspaper people had other things on their minds. 

William began 1915 on a high note by landing the Bostel Maiden Hurdle at Plumpton on January 4, aboard Kodak, owned and trained by Frank Wootton. A six-length victory on Mafioso in the Weight-for-Age Selling Hurdle at Blackpool’s Clifton Park on March 29 came next, and it was back at that course’s final meeting on April 26 that William had his last two wins. Jack Saw took the Lancashire Handicap Hurdle by a length, and in the following race his mount Beldorney landed the Selling Handicap Hurdle. He then rode Mafioso in the penultimate race to be held at Clifton Park, the Moderate Hurdle, won by Ernie Piggott on G.P., with Mafioso in third place. That was William’s last ride in England.

At some stage William Lea left England for Australia, dying in New South Wales in 1940, the same year as Frank Wootton.

William Lea’s wins were, in chronological order:

1. Lester Jim, Alexandra Park, April 25, 1908

2. Hostility, Windsor, May 30, 1908

3. Japan, Newmarket, September 30, 1908

4. Japan, Sandown Park, October 22, 1908

5. Fabric, Stockton, October 24, 1908

6. Pendant, Catterick Bridge, October 27, 1908 (dead-heat)

7. Pirate’s Girl, Derby, November 13, 1908

8. Tullochgorum, Birmingham, August 3, 1909

9. Green Ribbon, Folkestone, October 5, 1909

10. Exhilarate, Hurst Park, February 17, 1911

11. Kodak, Plumpton, January 4, 1915 

12. Mafioso, Clifton Park, March 29, 1915

13. Jack Saw, Clifton Park, April 26, 1915

14. Beldorney, Clifton Park, April 26, 1915