‘Way ahead of his time' – tributes paid to Edward O'Grady
He also enjoyed notable success aboard the likes of Ned Kelly, winner of the 2002 Irish Champion Hurdle, and Nick Dundee, both of whom were owned by John Magnier.
Williamson said: 'He was a remarkable trainer and a remarkable man and I think way ahead of his time, to be honest.
'What he did as a young man, I think he took over from his father in his early 20s, was amazing.
'Once you were on his team you knew you were going to be riding some good horses and we had a lot of success together.'
O'Grady saddled 18 Cheltenham Festival winners, putting him 17th on the all-time list.
'He never took a horse to Cheltenham with no chance, they all had reason to be there and he knew when he had one,' Williamson added.
'I actually rode my last Cheltenham winner for him on Back In Front. He was a short-priced favourite (for the Supreme) on the day, but it was like he was running him in a maiden hurdle. Edward knew what he had and he knew he was good enough.
'Ned Kelly won the Irish Champion Hurdle for us and Nick Dundee was a great horse, but we unfortunately didn't get to see his full potential. He fell in the SunAlliance Chase in Cheltenham when he was cantering, he was the banker that year.
'We had some great times together, he was a great pal and he'll be sadly missed.'
Another jockey who teamed up with O'Grady for Cheltenham Festival success was Barry Geraghty, with Sky's The Limit dominating his rivals in the 2006 Coral Cup.
Geraghty said: 'It's really sad news and a shock.
'Edward was a brilliant man and you would meet him regularly racing. He was always good company and he was a brilliant trainer who had great success. How he produced his horses… they were always so fit and so well and so well schooled.
'But above everything else he was a brilliant family man, a great father who loved his family and I'm sure everyone is devastated.
'Growing up and watching on, Edward O'Grady – he was the man at Cheltenham. I was fortunate to win on Sky's The Limit for him and I rode Back In Front to win the Morgiana Hurdle in Punchestown, we had lots of really good days.'
O'Grady's first Festival winner was Mr Midland, who landed the National Hunt Chase in 1974 in the hands of future Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning trainer Mouse Morris.
'I was with Edward for 17 years, riding for him as an amateur and when I turned professional,' said Morris.
'He was a very good trainer and was having winners in Cheltenham at a time when the Irish had very few winners there.
'Golden Cygnet was probably the best horse he trained and I remember winning on a horse called I'm Happy. He won a bumper at Naas and was sold to England. I think he was the first horse to beat Bula, that's going back a long time!'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Rhyl Journal
5 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
Story not done yet, says emotional Leah Williamson as England celebrate Euro win
There was an open-top bus parade just after midday, as thousands of fans flocked to see the procession along the Mall, before a staged ceremony at the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace. The moment was not lost on Williamson as she held back tears among the revelry, less than 48 hours after the Lionesses retained their European Championship crown by beating Spain in the Basel final on penalties. Proud 🥹 — Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 29, 2025 The England captain said: 'I'm holding back tears. I've been crying all the way down the Mall. This is unbelievable and it's one of the best things we've ever been a part of so thanks for coming out. 'Everything we do, we do it for us and our team but we do it for the country and young girls. This job never existed 30 or 40 years ago and we're making history every single step. Stay with us, this story is not done yet.' England showed incredible defiance throughout the tournament, from bouncing back from their opening defeat to France and demonstrating their never-say-die attitude in the knockout stages. They trailed 2-0 in the quarters to Sweden and 1-0 to Italy in the semis as well as going behind in the showpiece against Spain only to battle back to make sure they kept the trophy they won three years ago. Williamson told the crowd: 'There's lots of ways to win a football match and we repeatedly did it the hard way. 'But you can see how much we care about playing for England and how much we love it – 2022 was a fairy tale but this feels really hard-earned and we're very proud of ourselves so thank you and we hope you are, too. 'The first game maybe rocked us a little bit but I just think we're special people and we love each other, we've got each others' back on and off the pitch. We had tough moments, nasty things to deal with and still we rise.' It was a third consecutive European Championship crown for England head coach Sarina Wiegman, who led the Netherlands to glory in 2017. She said: 'It was chaos. I hoped a little less chaos but they didn't keep their promise to finish things quicker! We just kept having hope and belief and they just showed up when it was really necessary and urgent. 'There is a huge talent pool in this team. In 2022 we had great bonding but I think that made the absolute difference now: everyone was ready to step up and support each other. It was amazing to be a part of.' Goalkeeper Hannah Hampton was so instrumental in keeping Spain at bay in a 1-1 draw as well as the 3-1 final shootout success. Asked what she was thinking ahead of penalties, she replied: 'Just do whatever I can for the team – they ran around for 120 minutes and I've got it easy just standing still in my own 18-yard box.' She added: 'Don't let people tell you what you can and can't do. If you've got a dream and you really believe it, go out and do it. I did it. 'I got told many times that I'm not good enough and I shouldn't be playing football from the start. Keep doing it and if it makes you happy, go follow that smile.' Teenager Michelle Agyemang was named best young player of the tournament after scoring late levellers in England's quarter-final against Sweden and then Italy in the semis. All for this moment! ❤️ — Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 29, 2025 The 19-year-old said: 'I don't know what to say. It's surreal, it doesn't seem real seeing people down there. It's crazy to see what we've done and be here today.' The talismanic Lucy Bronze added: 'This moment is unbelievable. We did it three years ago but to do it again and to come back to this is just incredible.' Asked how this party compared to three years ago, Bronze replied: 'I don't remember.'
Leader Live
11 hours ago
- Leader Live
Story not done yet, says emotional Leah Williamson as England celebrate Euro win
There was an open-top bus parade just after midday, as thousands of fans flocked to see the procession along the Mall, before a staged ceremony at the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace. The moment was not lost on Williamson as she held back tears among the revelry, less than 48 hours after the Lionesses retained their European Championship crown by beating Spain in the Basel final on penalties. Proud 🥹 — Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 29, 2025 The England captain said: 'I'm holding back tears. I've been crying all the way down the Mall. This is unbelievable and it's one of the best things we've ever been a part of so thanks for coming out. 'Everything we do, we do it for us and our team but we do it for the country and young girls. This job never existed 30 or 40 years ago and we're making history every single step. Stay with us, this story is not done yet.' England showed incredible defiance throughout the tournament, from bouncing back from their opening defeat to France and demonstrating their never-say-die attitude in the knockout stages. They trailed 2-0 in the quarters to Sweden and 1-0 to Italy in the semis as well as going behind in the showpiece against Spain only to battle back to make sure they kept the trophy they won three years ago. Williamson told the crowd: 'There's lots of ways to win a football match and we repeatedly did it the hard way. 'But you can see how much we care about playing for England and how much we love it – 2022 was a fairy tale but this feels really hard-earned and we're very proud of ourselves so thank you and we hope you are, too. 'The first game maybe rocked us a little bit but I just think we're special people and we love each other, we've got each others' back on and off the pitch. We had tough moments, nasty things to deal with and still we rise.' It was a third consecutive European Championship crown for England head coach Sarina Wiegman, who led the Netherlands to glory in 2017. She said: 'It was chaos. I hoped a little less chaos but they didn't keep their promise to finish things quicker! We just kept having hope and belief and they just showed up when it was really necessary and urgent. 'There is a huge talent pool in this team. In 2022 we had great bonding but I think that made the absolute difference now: everyone was ready to step up and support each other. It was amazing to be a part of.' Goalkeeper Hannah Hampton was so instrumental in keeping Spain at bay in a 1-1 draw as well as the 3-1 final shootout success. Asked what she was thinking ahead of penalties, she replied: 'Just do whatever I can for the team – they ran around for 120 minutes and I've got it easy just standing still in my own 18-yard box.' She added: 'Don't let people tell you what you can and can't do. If you've got a dream and you really believe it, go out and do it. I did it. 'I got told many times that I'm not good enough and I shouldn't be playing football from the start. Keep doing it and if it makes you happy, go follow that smile.' Teenager Michelle Agyemang was named best young player of the tournament after scoring late levellers in England's quarter-final against Sweden and then Italy in the semis. All for this moment! ❤️ — Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 29, 2025 The 19-year-old said: 'I don't know what to say. It's surreal, it doesn't seem real seeing people down there. It's crazy to see what we've done and be here today.' The talismanic Lucy Bronze added: 'This moment is unbelievable. We did it three years ago but to do it again and to come back to this is just incredible.' Asked how this party compared to three years ago, Bronze replied: 'I don't remember.'
The Guardian
16 hours ago
- The Guardian
Consistent and stoic, Leah Williamson is most natural of unnatural leaders
Leah Williamson stops, unable to scrape the grin off her face, pizza in hand, hair still damp from the post-match shower and a fat lip. 'Not annnother one?!' I say to her, mimicking her parody of the viral general election clip after England lifted the Finalissima. 'Annnother one?!' she replies, still grinning. I am not the only one who remembers the clip. 'NOT ANOTHER ONEEEEEE,' Lauren Hemp commented on Williamson's Instagram post. The 28-year-old has reason to be cheerful, she is creating history over and over and over again – the girl whose mum used to park the car at the edge of a pitch with the headlights on at 6am so she could train in the dark before school is now the first England captain to lift two major trophies and help deliver England's first tournament win on foreign soil, coming two months after she tasted European glory with her childhood club Arsenal. Records are tumbling. Barriers are being broken. Doors are being opened. The Williamson-helmed team that, for at least a brief period, united a divided nation, is led by vocal advocates for LGBTQ+ rights, furious opponents of racism, defenders of the environment, campaigners against poverty and warriors for equality for women and girls and is redefining what it means to be 'proper English'. In May, at Arsenal's Champions League trophy lift outside the Emirates, Williamson spoke of what that win meant. 'I always said 'trophy for England over the trophy for Arsenal' because you don't pick your country, it's a bit more of a fate thing, a bit more luck needs to be involved,' she said, her emotion evident. 'But I feel ashamed now because that feeling was, I think right now, the happiest I've ever been in my whole entire life and I hope that other Arsenal fans are because I know I lived a dream.' The thing is, Williamson doesn't have to choose. She can have it all. She has it all. 'The first half took a lot of defensive actions,' she says of the showdown against Spain in Basel. 'They went our way and we were in the right place at the right time and I did get a feeling like I did in the Champions League final. I thought: 'Today is our day.' To do that? What a year. I can't think about it too much or I'll cry. If I reflect on the last couple years since that last win in 2022, I'm proud.' The Arsenal centre-back was superb in Switzerland, flying under the radar a little amid the hype around England's supersubs, consistently delivering despite a conveyor belt of centre-pack partners during the tournament – first Alex Greenwood, then Jess Carter, then Esme Morgan, then Carter again. In the final, no player dribbled past Williamson or Carter, they had the joint-most blocked shots and Williamson had more defensive actions and clearances than any other player on the pitch. Critically though, her range of passing was exceptional, her diagonal balls a vital component in England's forward play. She made more line-breaking passes than any other defender at the tournament, a total bettered only by the Spain midfielder Patri Guijarro. Williamson is a big-game player. She was also part of an Arsenal backline that did not concede a foul in the Champions League final in as close to a perfect performance as you can get on the way to the Gunners' second European title, but she is also a small-game player, consistent and stoic. Few who have followed Williamson's career would have been surprised when she was named as Steph Houghton's successor as captain of the Lionesses in 2022, despite the presence of more senior heads such as Lucy Bronze, Millie Bright and Ellen White and her having only 20 caps at the time. She has often been cited as being wise beyond her years, the former Arsenal manager Joe Montemurro describing her 'maturity, understanding of the game and positional sense' to those of a 30-year-old, when she was 25. Chloe Kelly knew much earlier than that. 'I remember stepping into Arsenal at 12 years old and saying to my parents: 'Leah's going to be England captain one day,'' she said. 'She's just an incredible girl, shows great leadership qualities and is so approachable, someone that I get on so well with. To captain England at major tournaments there is a lot of pressure but it doesn't show in Leah's personality at all. She's just so consistent, highs, lows and everything in between. She's a great England captain.' Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion At the 2022 Euros she blossomed in the captaincy role, leading from the back on the pitch and leading from the front off it, delivering impassioned speeches on the development of the game and its growth potential in press conferences and mixed zones. She is the most natural of unnatural leaders, seen barking orders in huddles and firing the team up in stark contrast with her more introverted persona off the pitch. That is a learned trait, balanced with the example set by the Arsenal captain, Kim Little, who leads with her feet more than her voice. 'Leah's great,' said Ella Toone during this summer's tournament. 'She rallies the team, gets everyone going, keeps everyone together, and leads by example in the way she plays. You want your captain to really step up in games and she definitely does that. She takes us all with her as well.' She plays and leads with an emotional intelligence, often seen deep in conversation with Sarina Wiegman whenever there is a pause in play, the mind constantly analysing, learning, recalculating. After Kelly's penalty confirmed England's title retention on Sunday, Williamson stepped quickly away from the initial celebrations to work her way around the distraught Spain players – leadership involves sacrifice. The party continues, an open-top bus parade down the Mall and celebration outside Buckingham Palace giving them the full hero treatment. And the work continues, with the government announcing it is aiming to double the pitch slots available to women and girls at grassroots level after the Lionesses headed straight to Downing Street when they landed back home on Monday. After that, it is time for Williamson to shake off the burden of responsibility, breathe, just soak it all in and get ready to go again. 'You've won everything at Arsenal, how does that motivate you to do more?' I asked her after the Champions League win. 'I haven't won everything,' she said quickly. 'I've got a World Cup to win.'
