Edward Welstead

Edward Welstead

Article by Alan Trout

Born in 1880, Edward Reed Halstead held a licence to ride over jumps as far back as 1898,

but it was not until 1907 that he won a race under National Hunt rules. By the end of 1910, he

had amassed eight victories.

The first of those eight had come at Worcester on May 1, 1907, when Extra Hack was an easy

winner of the Moderate Class Handicap Chase, scoring by 15 lengths, although it may have

helped that the first two in the betting both fell.

That was Edward’s only winner of the year but he fared better in 1908, thanks mainly to the

versatile Extra Hack, providing his jockey with four more wins including one over hurdles.

There were only three more wins after that, the last when Bonar narrowly beat Waddles, the

mount of Ernie Piggott, who was on his way to being crowned champion jump jockey, by a

neck in the Long Row Selling Hurdle at the Midland Hunt fixture at Nottingham on April 11,

1910.

Edward’s final ride was on Old Port, finishing second, beaten 12 lengths by the good amateur

rider George Gunter on Salamander in the Sherwood Hurdle, also at Nottingham, on May 8, 1911.  

Edward Welstead’s winners were, in chronological order:

1. Extra Hack, Worcester, May 1, 1907

2. Extra Hack, Leicester, February 13, 1908

3. Extra Hack, Warwick, February 26, 1908

4. Extra Hack, Bridgnorth, April 28, 1908

5. Extra Hack, Worcester, May 6, 1908

6. Lady Golightly V, Wenlock Hunt, May 7, 1908

7. Knight Of St. John, Vale of Aylesbury, April 1, 1909

8. Bonar, Midland Hunt (Nottingham), April 11, 1910