You Are a Bloody Good Writer
Jack Leach was a successful jockey who won the July Cup in 1925 and 1926 and the 2000 Guineas Stakes in 1927; all at Newmarket. From 1930-1952, he trained horses including Nick The Greek, for Fred Astaire, at Graham Place.
Jack Leach retired from training and wrote for the sporting press. In 1961, he published his first book ‘Sods I Have Cut on the Turf’. He described the world of racing and introduced the reader to many famous characters, including his good friend Fred Astaire.
You Are A Bloody Good Writer
Monday 1961
Dear Jack:-
I say! You are a bloody good writer. I’m impressed even more than before when I wasn’t sure you could speak English. No – no I’m kidding – but you do have talent and your book has pace and entertaining qualities. And what particularly pleases me is that it tells plainly what racing is all about.
Crooks!!! HOORAY!!! (no, no, no).
I enjoyed it a great deal and I’m going to give a copy to Shoemaker – I think he’ll read it and get a kick out of it.
Incidentally I think the photos are interesting and well chosen. That “friend” of the Ali Khan’s is Humphrey Finney who owns our biggest horse auction sales company – Fasig-Tipton & Co.
That race you referred to where Historian was one of the first to fly out and ran third, was my Gold Cup (Hollywood Gold Cup). Historian might have won it but Longden on a stopper made room for my jock, Basil James to come through and we “cattled” ‘em. Lovely!
I’ll have a runner or two next year. Probably win a f…… fortune.
All best
Fred
PS I didn’t know you were bald! Don’t you give those six or seven hairs any credit?
