Trainer Edward O’Grady has died at the age of 75.
The Tipperary native was a dominant figure in Irish National Hunt racing in the late 1970s and won four domestic training titles between 1977 and 1980.
He saddled 18 winners at the Cheltenham festival, the first of which was Mr Midland in the 1974 National Hunt Chase.
Perhaps the best remembered of those triumphs was Golden Cygnet’s brilliant run in the 1978 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle before the horse was fatally injured in the Scottish Champion Hurdle the following month.
O’Grady’s final winner was Our Soldier at Bellewstown this month.
A statement released by his family through Horse Racing Ireland read: “It is with profound sadness that we announce the death of Edward O’Grady, who passed away peacefully [Sunday] evening at St James’s Hospital, surrounded by his family.
“Edward was a cherished husband, father and grandfather and also one of the most respected and successful racehorse trainers of his generation.
“Over the course of an extraordinary career that spanned more than five decades, Edward trained just shy of 1,700 winners under rules. His name became synonymous with Irish National Hunt racing, and he was a formidable force at Cheltenham and across the racing world.”
