Fergus "Fergie" Sutherland was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

National Hunt 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: ...

trainer and soldier, who was best known for training

Imperial Call Imperial Call (21 February 1989 – 29 November 2014) was an Irish racehorse. He was a specialist steeplechaser who ran thirty-two times and won sixteen races under National Hunt rules. After showing promise as a hurdler and novice chaser, ...

to win the

Cheltenham Gold Cup The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlongs ( ...

in 1996.

Early life

Sutherland was named after

Fergus Bowes-Lyon Captain The Hon. Fergus Bowes-Lyon (18 April 1889 – 27 September 1915) was a British officer and older brother of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Queen consort of the United Kingdom from 1936 until 1952, and generally known in Britain as the Queen Mother ...

, a brother of the

Queen Mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also used to describe a number of ...

who was killed during the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. Th ...

; Bowes-Lyon had been a friend of Sutherland's father Arthur. Although Sutherland was born in London he spent most of his childhood in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

near the town of

Peebles Peebles ( gd, Na Pùballan) is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in June 2018 wa ...

. He spent his summers at the

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

seaside village of

Porlock Porlock is a coastal village in Somerset, England, west of Minehead. At the 2011 census, the village had a population of 1,440. In 2017, Porlock had the highest percentage of elderly population in Britain, with over 40% being of pensionable ag ...

where prominent trainer

Dick Hern William Richard Hern (20 January 1921 – 22 May 2002) was an English Thoroughbred racehorse trainer and winner of sixteen British Classic Races between 1962 and 1995, and was Champion Trainer on four occasions. Following his early career ...

taught him how to ride.

Military career

He received his education at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and Sandhurst. He attained the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and was posted to the

5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards The 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) and the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. It served in the Second World W ...

. During service with the regiment in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

he lost his left leg in an explosion. Sutherland later recounted the event: "Going up a hill, one of the four troops I was with tripped the wire of a landmine and set off the blast. I was the only one badly injured". A soldier who was with him declared 'You're OK, Mr Fergie, it's only the leg'. "I knew that because I had already checked". After a period of convalescence Sutherland was posted to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. He refused to allow his disability to affect his quality of life and commissioned artificial legs for specific activities – for instance, he had different legs for horse riding, shooting and dancing.

Horse training

In 1957 he began his horse training career at Carlburg Stables in Newmarket as assistant to Geoffrey Brooke. In addition, he worked for Joe Lawson. Following Lawson's retirement, Sutherland's father purchased the Newmarket yard. During his initial season he enjoyed a considerable degree of success, his first winner coming when Tribune won at

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

in April 1958 and saddling a winner at

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

when A.20 won the Queen Mary Stakes 1958. She was ridden by Bill Rickaby, owned by H. Clifton, and started at odds of 5/1. In 1967 Sutherland moved to County Cork in Ireland, when he heard his mother was contemplating selling

Aghinagh House Aghinagh House is a building in Caum Townland, County Cork, Ireland which was probably constructed sometime between 1799 and 1815. The building is an example of Irish Georgian architecture. Historical maps label the house as ''Ashton'' and ''Rect ...

in Killinardrish. He transformed the dairy and pig farm into one of the country’s most successful small racing stables.

Imperial Call

After an impressive start to the 1996 racing season, Imperial Call ridden by Wexford born Jockey Conor O'Dwyer, beat

Master Oats Master Oats (14 May 1986 – 21 May 2012) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist steeplechaser, he ran twenty-one time and won ten races. He campaigned mainly at distances in excess of three miles and was particularly effective ...

by six lengths to win the Hennessy at

Leopardstown Leopardstown () is a suburb of Dublin in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, within the traditional County Dublin, Ireland. Located at the foot of the Dublin Mountains, it is a residential suburb with institutional lands and a large racecourse. It is di ...

. Later that year he captured the Gold Cup 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 ...

. He was Sutherland's first runner at the festival and became the first Irish-trained horse since

Dawn Run Dawn Run (1978–1986) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse (Deep Run - Twilight Slave) who was the most successful racemare in the history of National Hunt racing. She won the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 1984 and the Chelten ...

ten years previously to capture the "blue riband event". He retired in 1996 but briefly resumed training for two years in 2000. Sutherland was awarded Irish Horse Racing Personality of the Year in 1996. During his retirement he enjoyed shooting and occasionally fishing.

Personal life

In April 1954 Sutherland married Judy Ranger in London. The reception was held in The Savoy. The couple had four children. After a brief second marriage he married for a third time to Ann. The marriage produced one daughter.

Death

He died on 31 October 2012 at the Marymount Hospice in County Cork.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutherland, Fergie Irish racehorse trainers People from Macroom 1931 births 2012 deaths Military personnel from London Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst British Army personnel of the Korean War 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards officers People educated at Eton College