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A staying conditions race at Ponte may not be the best memorial to racing genius and visionary par excellence Phil Bull but I imagine it would sit well with Phil as he was an anti-establishment socialist.
Much more Phil than a group 1 at snooty Ascot, then again the Racing Post trophy I believe was Phil’s conception way back so in a way he does have a group 1 memorial.
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To the best of my recollection, Bull was instrumental in choosing a race that was: at his beloved Pontefract; a conditions event when those were declining in popularity; and an out-and-out staying race at a time when several race distances were being clipped.
He was a fine curmudgeon, and one of his unwitting legacies has been for Timeform to produce some fine curmudgeons since.
He was a fine curmudgeon, and one of his unwitting legacies has been for Timeform to produce some fine curmudgeons since.
You wouldn’t be referring to one of our erstwhile fellow Fourmites would you Pru?
Howard Wright’s biography of Phil Bull is an excellent read for anyone interested in the development of the current system of rating horses, handicapping and compiling speed figures.
My own interest in the above goes back to the time of Dick Whitford(a co-founder of Timeform) and his form ratings in the Sporting Life. He was the ‘form’ man and Phil was the ‘time’ man. They were well ahead of the field in developing a sustainable business out of their ideas, although there were many others, here and in the States, who had similar ideas and were successful punters.
Howard Wright’s biography is required reading for all those with an interest in Phil Bull, Timeform or, indeed, handicapping per se. In fact I think a re-read is in order at Cormack Plaza.
My favourite racing books are Phil Bull’s Best Horses annuals. As a teenager I came across second hand ones in Foyle’s basement and they really made an impression on me.
Whilst a long distance condition’s stakes at Ponte may have been his idea of a fitting race, his contribution to racing would justify something very snooty indeed.
Artemis you imply that there were others in that period developing similar ideas. Are there any relevant books?
Every year, several pages of the Timeform annual were devoted to adverts for his horses in training and breeding stock.
He was always prepared to sell, and he had some good ones.
Howard Wright’s biography of Phil Bull is an excellent read for anyone interested in the development of the current system of rating horses, handicapping and compiling speed figures.
My own interest in the above goes back to the time of Dick Whitford(a co-founder of Timeform) and his form ratings in the Sporting Life. He was the ‘form’ man and Phil was the ‘time’ man. They were well ahead of the field in developing a sustainable business out of their ideas, although there were many others, here and in the States, who had similar ideas and were successful punters.
My impression, fwiw, is that Reg Griffin p1ssed on Dick Whitford big time.
Blackheath,
I think most of the stuff has now disappeared, but there may be some old books still published in the States. I’ve read about it in various places, although I cannot give you a definite reference at the moment. I’ll have a dig about and see if I can uncover anything. I’ll get back to you.
Interestingly Bull’s colours will be seen on the racetrack for th first time since 1988 when Golden Bishop runs in the 9.20 at Great Leighs on Thursday evening.
That bio mentioned is where I got all my facts about Phil. Interesting stuff about Phil’s association with William Hill and Towser Gosden. It’s quite a few years since I loaned it from library but I seem to recall that the book said going was the most important criteria in horse selection for Phil.
My favourite racing books are Phil Bull’s Best Horses annuals. As a teenager I came across second hand ones in Foyle’s basement and they really made an impression on me.
Whilst a long distance condition’s stakes at Ponte may have been his idea of a fitting race, his contribution to racing would justify something very snooty indeed.
Artemis you imply that there were others in that period developing similar ideas. Are there any relevant books?
Francis Higgins wrote Flat Racing Explained under the name Analyst in 1899. This included the "time test" and all the handicapping methods that Timeform later used. Higgins was complaining about wrong race distances, course data and wrong going etc even in those days. F H Bayles published UK & Ireland racecourse mapping plus soil data for the first time in 1903 – UK racing then went back to sleep for the next Century until Turftrax appeared and left. FRE and Bayles book are obtainable in New York from about £132 and £600, respectively.
Robert99
BTW As you are probably aware a scan of much of the contents of Flat Racing Explained by Analyst is to be found on the web. The tale about Teufel and St Frusquin alone is worth the effort of saving the pages.
Thanks again.In his biography Bull was asked who was the best jockey he ever saw and would you believe it was not Lester!
On the subject of Phil Bull and jockeys, I can well recall the story that Australian born rider, Edgar Britt told about riding many a Phil Bull owned horse during the 1950s.
Britt wrote in his autobiography that it initially took some getting used to when it came to receiving his riding instructions from the owner rather than the trainer once he had weighed out to ride a Phil Bull runner.
He went on to write that the more he rode Bull’s horses, the more it began to dawn on him that this particular owner knew what he was talking about. Nevertheless, there was one particular instruction that always puzzled him. And then one day, events transpired in the pre-race parade ring whereby one of the runners was lead away to be hurriedly re-platted causing a brief delay.
With time on their hands for something of a prolonged conversation between the two men, Edgar Britt wrote that the dialogue went as follows.
EB “Can I ask you a question Mr Bull? It’s about something you always ask me to do when I ride one of your horses down to the start”
PB “Certainly Edgar, what do you want to know?”
EB “Well Mr Bull, I can’t understand why you keep making such a point of telling me which side of the course I have to ride on to get to the start.”
PB “As I think you already know Edgar, I do have a bet on a good few of my runners.”
EB “Yes Mr Bull, I have heard something to that effect said about you.”
PB “Well, from where we are standing now, the betting ring is some distance away – is it not – therefore, I can’t be in two places at the same time. So, while I am here with you my agents are over there ready to carrying out my instructions.
Now, while you have been doing what you have to do to prepare yourself before a race. I’ve been standing here weighing up the opposition. So Edgar, when I tell you to ride down to the start on the stands-side rail, that’s my signal to my agents to wade in. If I tell you to go down the middle then that’s my signal for them to go steady and if they see you going down on the opposite rail then they are under orders to do nothing – and that’s about it in a nutshell, Edgar.”
“Interesting stuff about Phil’s association with William Hill and Towser Gosden.”
Alex Bird, in his 1985 autobiography, makes passing reference to the Phil Bull-William Hill link when he wrote that:
The son of a Yorkshire miner, he [Phil Bull] won a scholarship to Leeds University where he obtained a BSc degree. Then just before the war he ran the Temple Time Test, which he advertised in the sporting press under the name of William K Temple BSc. The idea was to issue a list of horses to clients each week based on time performance. It was a successful operation and punters who backed the horses to level stakes made a substantial profit over the year. In fact the system paid so well that William Hill closed the accounts of many of Bull’s clients.
Phil Bull and Hill met on the issue and had a heated discussion. But the outcome was that the two became very good friends and joined forces. Phil became the bookmaker’s personal assistant, going to races with him during the war. He even ran Hill’s advertising and organised the ante-post prices.
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