John Tapp Racing

Great to catch up with 78 year old Leon Fox now in retirement in his hometown of Inverell. Leon trained horses for 20 years following a stellar riding career which saw him dubbed the “George Moore of the bush”. Leon begins by paying tribute to his father Les Fox to whom he was apprenticed. He talks of his ordinary effort on the occasion of his first race ride, and the thrill of his first win in a little border town called Texas. He talks of a very successful apprenticeship and the approaches he got from Sydney trainers who were keen to use his allowance. Leon was overawed to rub shoulders with legends like Ted McMenamin, Darby Munro and Jim Pike. The former ace jockey reflects on the day he shared in a precious piece of racing history. Two wins on the same day on the same horse at a Warwick Farm Saturday meeting. Leon remembers the contract he was offered when Hong Kong racing went professional in the early 70’s. He stayed for 8 years.   He has some wonderful tales to tell about his Hong Kong experienc