Edward O'Grady is an champion Irish National Hunt racehorse trainer. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, O'Grady was the leading Irish trainer at

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

(after Vincent O'Brien) by number of winners. He was played by

Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (; born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He is best known as the fifth actor to play secret agent James Bond in the Bond film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 (''GoldenEye'', ''Tomorrow ...

in the 1980 film ''Murphy's Stroke''.

Early life

O'Grady attended

Blackrock College Blackrock College ( ga, Coláiste na Carraige Duibhe) is a voluntary secondary school, voluntary day school, day and boarding school, boarding Catholicism, Catholic secondary school for boys aged 13–18, in Williamstown, Blackrock, Dublin, Bl ...

and left veterinary college in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

to take over at Killeen Stables following his father's death in 1973. His father, Willie, was a top jump jockey and twice Irish Champion Jockey in 1934 and 1935. O'Grady had his first winner when

Timmy Hyde Timothy Joseph Hyde (1908–1967) was an Irish National Hunt racing jockey during the 1930s and 1940s. Hyde began his career in show jumping before becoming an amateur jockey in National Hunt racing. After turning professional he had immediate ...

saddled Vibrax in a Handicap Hurdle in

Gowran Park Gowran Park is a horse race course in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the Annely Estate near the village of Gowran Gowran (; ) is a town located on the eastern side of County Kilkenny, Ireland. The historic St. Mary's Collegiate Ch ...

. Following this success a virus struck all of his 18 horses causing many owners to leave him. In 1974 O’Grady had his first

Festival winner when

Mouse Morris Michael "Mouse" Morris, formally the Hon. Michael Morris, (born 4 April 1951) is an Irish racehorse trainer and former amateur and professional jockey. As a trainer, he has won the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and has won the Iri ...

rode

Mr. Midland ''Mister'', usually written in its contracted form ''Mr.'' or ''Mr'', is a commonly used English honorific for men without a higher honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office. The title 'Mr' derived from earlier ...

to victory.

1970s and 80s

In 1974

Gay Future Gay Future was the racehorse at the centre of an attempted fraud by an Irish betting syndicate in Great Britain in 1974 involving two chestnut horses.

, a horse trained by O'Grady, was involved in an attempted coup by an Irish betting syndicate in 1974. O'Grady was one of four people arrested during the police investigation but the charges against him were dropped. In 2020, the ''Irish Times'' described it as "one of racing’s most daring scams was almost pulled off." It was depicted in the 1980 film ''Murphy's Stroke'', with Pierce Brosnan playing O'Grady. O'Grady soon became established as the leading national hunt trainer in Ireland, and

Golden Cygnet Golden Cygnet (1972 - 1978) was a racehorse who was described in the 1979 Irish Racing Annual by legendary Irish trainer Vincent O'Brien as "the best hurdler I've ever seen." His hurdling career lasted less than 5 months, as a result of the f ...

became the stable star. O'Grady named Golden Cygnet as the most naturally talented horse he had trained. Golden Cygnet won the Supreme Novice Hurdle in Cheltenham in 1978. The following month he died after a fall in the

Scottish Champion Hurdle The Scottish Champion Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ayr, South Ayrshire, over a distance of about 2 miles (3,21 ...

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

. Further tragedy struck the stable when the

J.P. McManus John Patrick McManus (born 10 March 1951) is an Irish businessman and racehorse owner. His career lasted from the 1980s to the 2010s. He was one of the biggest shareholders of Manchester United, until his stake was bought out by Malcolm Glazer ...

owned Shining Flame broke a leg at

Tramore Racecourse Tramore Racecourse is a horse racing venue in Tramore, County Waterford, Ireland which stages both National Hunt and Flat racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys ...

less than two weeks after capturing the Galway Plate. Nevertheless, O'Grady went on to become leading trainer in 1979. Following Shining Flame's victory in 1978 O'Grady went on to win three Galway Plates in four years, with

Hind Hope A hind is a female deer, especially a red deer. Places * Hind (Sasanian province), Hind (Sasanian province, 262-484) * Al-Hind, Hind and al-Hind, a Persian and Arabic name for the Indian subcontinent * Hind (crater), a lunar impact crater * 18 ...

and Rugged Lucy winning in 1979 and 1981 respectively. Hard Tarquin's victory in the 1979 Galway Hurdle made him only the fifth trainer to win both "big races" in the same year. Drumlargan won the 1983

Whitbread Gold Cup Whitbread plc is a multinational British hotel and restaurant company headquartered in Houghton Regis, England. The business was founded as a brewery in 1742, and had become the largest brewery in the world by the 1780s. Its largest division ...

, which O'Grady described as "the most memorable win of my career". In the same year Bit of a Skite proved victorious in the

Irish Grand National The Irish Grand National is a National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 3 miles and 5 furlongs (5,834 ...

1990s and 2000s

Sound Man won two successive Tingle Creek Chases (1995 and 1996), and Blitzkrieg captured the

Victor Chandler Chase The Clarence House Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of about 2 miles and 1 furlong (2 ...

in 1991. Sacundai, with

Ruby Walsh Rupert Walsh (born 14 May 1979 in Kill, County Kildare, Ireland) is an Irish former jockey. He is the second child, and eldest son, of former champion amateur jockey Ted Walsh and his wife Helen. Walsh is the third most prolific winner in Britis ...

aboard, captured the Martell Cognac Aintree Hurdle in 2003. In the same year, Back in Front won the Supreme Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham and the Evening Herald Novice Hurdle at Punchestown. More recent success came in 2009 when Tranquil Sea ridden by

Andrew McNamara Andrew Ian McNamara (born 19 August 1959) is an Australian politician. He was a Labor member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 2001 to 2009, representing the district of Hervey Bay. He served as Minister for Sustainability, Clima ...

became the first Irish-trained horse since Bright Highway in 1980 to win the

Paddy Power Gold Cup The Paddy Power Gold Cup is a Premier Handicap National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of ...

at Cheltenham.

Family

O'Grady married in 1999. His wife Maria was killed in a fall while out hunting with the Tipperary Foxhounds in November 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OGrady, Edward Irish racehorse trainers Sportspeople from County Tipperary 1949 births Living people