RACING followers will be sad to learn of the passing of an outstanding Queensland jockey of yesteryear in Les Harris.
A star apprentice with trainer Eric Kirwan in the early 1960s, Harris would have achieved the rare feat of winning the senior jockeys’ premiership in his first season had he not broken a leg with two months to go. He still finished second.
Harris rode with great success in Sydney (for trainer Pat Murray) and later in Ireland where he won the Killarney Cup and Tipperary Cup. He returned to Queensland and rode on well into his 50s but mainly at the Gold Coast where he was premiership jockey for five seasons.
His best Queensland wins included QTC Sires’ (Kiwanis), Gold Coast Prime Minister’s Cup (Chill Factor), Delaney Quality (Ima Shadow), Recognition Stakes (Jour d’Or), Exhibition Handicap (Ima Shadow), Meynink Stakes (Tapping), McDougall Stakes (Excitable Lady, Tolvala Queen), Albion Park Cup (Colonel Blimp), Bribie Handicap (Red Shirt), Bernborough Handicap (On The Ropes), Barnes Plate (Ima Shadow), Ipswich QBBS Plate (Chime Zam), Doomben Dollars (Dual Light), Gold Coast Cup (Latin Romance), Fraser Handicap (Rhalif), Coca Cola Stakes (Breakfast Creek), Winter Stakes (Piper’s Belle), Rockhampton Cup (Prince Velvet), Townsville Cup (Eastern Prince), Koomeela Stakes (Northern Player), Golden Stakes (Adventure Bay), Lismore Cup (Lumlaw Lad), Sandgate Handicap (Kiwanis), John MacArthur Stakes (Red Shirt), Kialla Stakes (Kiwanis), Risdon Stakes (Count Rawson), QTC Christmas Cup (Jour d’Or), Caloundra Cup (Jubilee Jack) and Healy Stakes (Valley Moss).
Harris rode 218 winners for $1.8mn in prizemoney. After his retirement Les and his wife Karen were regulars at Brisbane race meetings.
VALE Les Harris, RIP, you will be sadly missed.
