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Thanks Madrid. There’s a possibility that R Moore was Bill’s brother Ralph, as my Mum had said that he had trained to be a jockey. However, he too ended up in the Navy. Ralph was a year younger than Bill so would have been 15 years old – is that possible?
Norette,
Very possible, indeed quite likely. Lester Piggott rode his first winner in August 1948 and he was just 12 years old at the time.
A fascinating thread Norette and I am so pleased that you actually found the picture in the newspaper.
Think I was responsible for a lot of the red herrings…. I was convinced it was a filly! Also I wonder if the poster on the other forum was mistaken thinking the picture was at Thirsk. Or is Thirsk near to were Bullock trained?
I was looking up the Bullock stable in the 1947/8 Winners books by John Betts. He was brother to W Bulloch the rider of Derby winning filly Signroretta, he had another brother who was a Royal Academician. He won the Stewards Cup with Harmachis. His daughter Vera, who sounds as if she might have been his assistant, won the Newmarket Town Plate.Not wanting to confuse matters, but both form books (Sporting Chronicle and Sporting Life) list the winning trainer of the Redcar race as H S Maw based in Markington, Harrogate.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
It would be interesting to know if the photo finish was in operation for this meeting, the 3 races listed had winning distances of sht head, neck – neck, sht head – and the main race short head, short head which was the minimum distance at the time.
Coincidentally I’ve read that the photo finish was introduced in 1947, I wonder if it was in operation for this meeting as I’m sure the judges got plenty of results wrong prior to the photo finish, particularly when the minimum margin was involved.
It would be interesting to know if the photo finish was in operation for this meeting, the 3 races listed had winning distances of sht head, neck – neck, sht head – and the main race short head, short head which was the minimum distance at the time.
Coincidentally I’ve read that the photo finish was introduced in 1947, I wonder if it was in operation for this meeting as I’m sure the judges got plenty of results wrong prior to the photo finish, particularly when the minimum margin was involved.
Do you remember the 1984 Ayr Gold Cup?
I backed Able Albert and listened to the race on the Tannoy at my local bookies. The judge called Alakh the winner and I felt deflated, despite having a decent each-way tickle at 9/1. The next thing I knew there was a call of “hold the result” over the blower and it eventually transpired that Able Albert had won by half a length, with Alakh second. Years later I saw the video and Able Albert had made his challenge wide across the track, coming late on his own and had obviously misled the judge. I always wondered why the hell they didn’t just call for a photo that day.
Mark Birch did the trick and one of the tabloid papers had a field day with the headline “Birch Canes Bookies” the following day.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
Thirsk is 12 miles from Ripon, and Markington a further 6 miles from Ripon so whether the trainer was Bullock or Maw, Thirsk certainly qualifies as nearby to both
Is the tale of a copy of the photo hanging at Thirsk a red herring too or is it true? A call to the course should clear that up; and if it is indeed there they may be able to supply a reason why
Do you remember the 1984 Ayr Gold Cup?
I backed Able Albert and listened to the race on the Tannoy at my local bookies. The judge called Alakh the winner and I felt deflated, despite having a decent each-way tickle at 9/1. The next thing I knew there was a call of “hold the result” over the blower and it eventually transpired that Able Albert had won by half a length, with Alakh second. Years later I saw the video and Able Albert had made his challenge wide across the track, coming late on his own and had obviously misled the judge. I always wondered why the hell they didn’t just call for a photo that day.
Mark Birch did the trick and one of the tabloid papers had a field day with the headline “Birch Canes Bookies” the following day.
If the race had been pre-photo finish days, Able Albert would have finished down the field.
Very possible, indeed quite likely
Aha! Ralph Moore himself is in South Africa and getting on a bit. I’ve not met or spoken to him as I believe he’s not too well.
I’m meeting with Ralph’s son in September (for the first time, we just met on email this year) I’ve sent him the clipping – it would be good to print off this thread – is there a way to do this? He knows less about the family than we do at this juncture.
As I was wading through the 1947 Northern Echo, I thought I saw an article about the first photo finish prior to this race.
Also interesting to read the headlines in 1947 about austerity and Greece as well!Think I was responsible for a lot of the red herrings
I think we all were
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>stevecaution wrote:</div>
Do you remember the 1984 Ayr Gold Cup?I backed Able Albert and listened to the race on the Tannoy at my local bookies. The judge called Alakh the winner and I felt deflated, despite having a decent each-way tickle at 9/1. The next thing I knew there was a call of “hold the result” over the blower and it eventually transpired that Able Albert had won by half a length, with Alakh second. Years later I saw the video and Able Albert had made his challenge wide across the track, coming late on his own and had obviously misled the judge. I always wondered why the hell they didn’t just call for a photo that day.
Mark Birch did the trick and one of the tabloid papers had a field day with the headline “Birch Canes Bookies” the following day.
If the race had been pre-photo finish days, Able Albert would have finished down the field.
Not sure I follow you Yeats. The judge changed his mind without calling for a photo was the way I recall it.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
Not sure I follow you Yeats. The judge changed his mind without calling for a photo was the way I recall it.
On what basis did he change his mind? He must have surely used video or the camera? How else would he have realised his mistake?
If the race had happened pre photo/video days he couldn’t have changed his mind, there would be no evidence and Able Albert would have been a loser surely?
Do you remember the 1984 Ayr Gold Cup?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0C1nyTFdfM
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
No wonder the judge called it wrong if he had the same camera angle as above.
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>stevecaution wrote:</div>
Not sure I follow you Yeats. The judge changed his mind without calling for a photo was the way I recall it.On what basis did he change his mind? He must have surely used video or the camera? How else would he have realised his mistake?
If the race had happened pre photo/video days he couldn’t have changed his mind, there would be no evidence and Able Albert would have been a loser surely?
You would need to ask the judge what made him change his mind. There was no photo called and I read years later that he made the change without asking for a photo. Perhaps he saw the replay on TV. It just seemed strange to me that with the horses so far apart that there wasn’t a photo called. Able Albert was originally given as second, so it’s not as if he didn’t see the horse at all.
Anyway, I got paid out, so it’s all good and I didn’t have to track the judge down and make sure he spent a couple of weeks in hospital while ruing his mistake.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
Do you remember the 1984 Ayr Gold Cup?
Cheers Esp
As Nathan says, it wasn’t the best of camera angles there. No Hawkeye in those days, just the good old Judge’s Cock-Eye at work. I wonder how many pixels Able Albert’s winning margin equates to?
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
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