‘When Edward fancied a horse you didn't need to have money, all you needed was credit' - JP McManus hails late great O'Grady

Irish Independent

6 days ago

O'Grady trained nearly 1,700 winners throughout an extraordinary career spanning five decades and the Tipperary trainer was a pioneer for the Irish at Cheltenham with 18 Festival successes, often when the raiding team struggled to get any winners on the board at Prestbury Park.
Golden Cygnet and Mister Donovan are just two of the marquee names that went through his hands and victory for the latter in the 1982 Sun Alliance Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham was a huge coup for his owner McManus with a monster punt landed.
"When Edward fancied a horse, you didn't need to have money, all you needed to have was credit because they nearly always delivered," McManus said of O'Grady after the victory of Davy Crockett (1/2 favourite) in the opening race on the first day of the Galway Races.
"His record was second to none at the time. He'd say to you after Fairyhouse in April, after the National, they used to bring some of their future horses there, some of their four-year-olds and he'd say 'We've found one for Christmas'.
"And true to his word, Christmas is when he'd next appear. You didn't need to have money as long as you had credit. He'll me missed, he was a great judge of a horse."
McManus and O'Grady go back nearly 50 years and the powerful Limerick owner spoke highly of a man who was "something special".
"No doubt he was an amazing trainer. I went to him in 1978 with the second horse that I owned, Jack Of Trumps, and he done a great job with him. I remember he won as a five-year-old carrying 12 stone in the Jameson Gold Cup, it was a handicap then," McManus said.
"We went on that year and won the Galway Plate (with Shining Flame). He was something special and the one thing that I'll have to say about Edward is that he was always very good to his staff and kind to everybody."
Former jockey Norman Williamson also paid tribute, hailing O'Grady as 'a remarkable trainer and a remarkable man'.
Williamson rode a whole host of big-race winners for O'Grady, including his last Cheltenham Festival success in the saddle aboard Back In Front in the 2003 Supreme Novices' Hurdle.
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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!'
Additional reporting from PA Media