THE issue of The Irish Field from a decade ago carried the news of the death of Bunny Cox, arguably the greatest amateur rider in the history of Irish racing. Indeed, Francis Flood, went further in paying tribute to him, saying “he was easily the best around when I was there – amateur or professional.”

What made him so special? Perhaps that is revealed by Bill McLernon, a man of considerable ability himself in the saddle. “He was a beautiful rider and a lovely horseman. The way he was built, he had great upper body strength and horses ran and jumped very well for him. He was very hard to beat.”