David Raymond Cecil Elsworth (born 1939) is a retired

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

living in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. He was the trainer of

Desert Orchid Desert Orchid (11 April 1979 – 13 November 2006), known as ''Dessie'', was an English racehorse. The grey achieved a revered and esteemed status within National Hunt racing, where he was much loved by supporters for his front-running atta ...

, 1988

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 ...

winner Rhyme 'n' Reason, and 1990

Queen Mother Champion Chase The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. As part of a sponsorship agreement with the onl ...

winner Barnbrook Again; three horses among a number of top-class performers for over jumps and on the flat. Daivid Elsworth was champion national hunt trainer 1987–88. Elsworth also trained Persian Punch to win multiple staying races on the flat, whilst his sole classic success came with the 1990

Irish 1000 Guineas The Irish 1,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled t ...

with In the Groove. Elsworth began his training career as an assistant to Ricky Vallance at

Bishops Cannings Bishops Cannings is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, England, north-east of Devizes. The parish includes the village of Coate (not to be confused with Coate, Swindon) and the hamlets of Bourton, Horton and Little Ho ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

in the early 1970s. When Vallance lost his training licence Elsworth took a job as a market trader before setting up as a trainer in his own right.

References

1939 births Living people British racehorse trainers {{UK-horseracing-bio-stub