Denys Smith (13 August 1924 – 13 November 2016) was a British racehorse trainer whose horses competed in both

Flat racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

and

National Hunt racing In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

. Smith's training stables were located at Bishop Auckland in County Durham. He trained the winners of over 1,600 races during a 45-year career and gained his biggest success when

Red Alligator Red Alligator was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Grand National in 1968. He also came third the previous year and was favorite in 1969 but fell at the 19th fence. Red Alligator was the third horse in succession to carry exactly 1 ...

won the 1968 Grand National. Smith worked as a taxi driver before his joining his father-in-law, Bert Richardson, as a cattle dealer. Richardson owned horses which took part in harness racing and Smith assisted him with buying horses and training them before moving on to training point-to-point horses. He eventually became a fully licensed trainer himself and sent out his first winner in 1958 with Owen's Mark at

Sedgefield Racecourse Sedgefield Racecourse is an English left-handed horse racing course, used for jump racing. It is owned by Arena Racing Company and located close to the town of Sedgefield, County Durham. The finishing straight is about three furlongs in length, wi ...

. His first Flat race winner came in 1964 when Miss Autumn won at Aintree Racecourse. In 1969–70 and 1970 Smith became the first trainer to send out 50 winners in consecutive National Hunt and Flat seasons. He retired from training in 2002 and had his final winner with Monksford at

Hamilton Park Racecourse Hamilton Park racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue in Hamilton, Scotland to the south of Glasgow. It is a flat racing venue, with a season which runs from May to September. The very first race to take place in Hamilton was in 1782 ...

in July of that year.

Major wins

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap st ...

– (1) – ''

(1968)'' * Gloucestershire Hurdle – (1) – ''King Cutler (1968)'' *

Middle Park Stakes The Middle Park Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is ...

– (1) – '' Tudenham (1972)'' *

Flying Childers Stakes The Flying Childers Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 5 furlongs and 3 yards (1,008 metres), and it is sched ...

– (1) – ''Mandrake Major (1976)''

References

1924 births 2016 deaths British racehorse trainers British taxi drivers People from Bishop Auckland {{UK-horseracing-bio-stub