LEGENDARY horse trainer Edward O’Grady has died aged 75 – just days after saddling his final ever runner.
The King of Cheltenham before Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott came on the scene, O’Grady is remembered as one of Ireland’s greatest ever handlers.
Famed horse trainer Edward O’Grady, who made Cheltenham Festival his second home with a whole load of winners, has sadly died aged 75Times Newspapers Ltd
News Group Newspapers LtdO’Grady, right, stands with a much younger Willie Mullins, who he helped pave the way for Cheltenham Festival domination[/caption]
Iconic James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan got one of his big acting breaks playing Edward O’Grady
And he is also partly responsible for the rise of James Bond hero Pierce Brosnan – with one of the iconic actor’s first big roles being to play O’Grady in the film ‘Murphy’s Stroke’.
O’Grady himself hit the big time when he teamed up with iconic owner JP McManus to land a huge punt at the Festival in 1982.
O’Grady trained the first of more than 80 McManus Cheltenham winners in the shape of Mister Donavan.
A fearsome punter, McManus said he won more than £250,000 backing his horse over and over for what is now the Turners Novices’ Hurdle.
In today’s money the victory would be worth more than £1.1million.
O’Grady masterminded 18 Cheltenham Festival winners from his Tipperary base in all, his victories coming in the days when British trainers still dominated.
His most famous horses included the likes of Golden Cygnet, who many said was the greatest hurdler of all time despite his only season over obstacles ending in tragedy.
Dubbed ‘the horse of the century’, he won the 1978 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham before suffering a fatal fall in the Scottish Champion Hurdle at Ayr, cruelly cutting short the career over a horse O’Grady said was ‘the most talented I ever trained’.
Gay Future, Native Upmanship, Ned Kelly, Back In Front and Tranquil Sea were other big O’Grady horses.
O’Grady, who also enjoyed success as a Flat trainer having been forced to switch when farming troubles hit Ireand, was saddling horses right up until his death.
His final ever runner was Sovereign Banter who ran at Cork last Friday night – mere weeks after his last winner, Our Soldier, earlier this month.
Trainer Fergal O’Brien was among the first to pay tribute to a trailblazer in the sport, writing on X: “One of the very best. Sad news.”
This is the second death to hit racing in as many weeks, after a Grand National legend and ‘amazing woman’ passed away at home.
Despite his success on the track, tragedy was never too far away from O’Grady’s personal life.
His first wife Judy passed away in 2010, seven years before second wife Maria was killed in a fall.
O’Grady later remarried and leaves behind wife Kay and children Jonathan, Amber, Lucy, Mimi and Rosie Mae.
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