Henrietta Catherine Knight (born 15 December 1946) is an English

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, 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 bas ...

trainer. Knight is best known as a trainer of

National Hunt National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, Great Britain and Ireland. Jump Racing requires horses to jump over fences and ditches. In ...

racehorses. She trained triple

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 furlon ...

winner

Best Mate Best Mate (28 January 1995 – 1 November 2005) was an Irish-bred, English-trained racehorse and three-time winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He was a popular horse, and his sudden death while racing made front-page news. Background Best ...

(2002, 2003, 2004), also winner of the 2003

King George VI Chase The King George VI Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a dis ...

, and the 2000

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 ...

winner Edredon Bleu, also winner of the 2003

King George VI Chase The King George VI Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a dis ...

. She retired in 2012 with over 700 winners to her name.

Life and career

She is the daughter of Major Hubert Guy Broughton Knight (1917–1993) and Hester Loyd. Her sister, Celia Elizabeth Knight (1949–2020), was married to

Samuel Vestey, 3rd Baron Vestey Samuel George Armstrong Vestey, 3rd Baron Vestey, (19 March 1941 – 4 February 2021), was a British peer, landowner, and businessman. He served as Master of the Horse to Queen Elizabeth II from 1999 to 2018. Lord Vestey was part of the fami ...

. An

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

graduate, Knight worked as a biology and history teacher before becoming a trainer. She was a prominent figure in the equestrian sport of

eventing Eventing (also known as three-day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where the same horse and rider combination compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This ...

, finishing 12th at the

Badminton Horse Trials The Badminton Horse Trials is a five-day event, one of only seven annual Concours Complet International (CCI) Five Star events as classified by the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI). It takes place in May each year in the park of ...

in 1973, and becoming the chairperson of the British Olympic Games Horse Trials Selection Committee from 1984 to 1988. This period included the selection of the Silver medal-winning team for the

Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

. Knight began training under rules in 1989 having previously trained over 100 winners on the amateur point-to-point circuit from 1984 to 1989. Her training base is a farm in West Lockinge, near Wantage in Oxfordshire. Knight married former champion National Hunt

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

Terry Biddlecombe Terry Biddlecombe (2 February 1941 – 5 January 2014) was an English National Hunt racing jockey in the 1960s and 1970s. He was Champion Jockey in 1965, 1966 and 1969. Biddlecombe was born in Hartpury, Gloucester on 2 February 1941. He rode ...

in 1995 and has no children. Biddlecombe died on 5 January 2014. Knight trained the Jim and Valerie Lewis owned triple

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 furlon ...

winner

(2002, 2003, 2004), also winner of the 2003

King George VI Chase The King George VI Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a dis ...

. She trained the 2000

winner Edredon Bleu, also winner of the 2003

King George VI Chase The King George VI Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a dis ...

. Among her other stable stars were Calgary Bay, who won the

Dipper Novices' Chase The Dipper Novices' Chase was a Grade 2 National Hunt chase in Great Britain which was run annually from 1980 until 2023. In April of the latter year, the British Horseracing Authority announced the rem ...

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

in January 2009, Somersby, who won the Grade 1 Victor Chandler Chase at

Ascot Ascot, Ascott or Askot may refer to: Places Australia * Ascot, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane * Ascot, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a locality * Ascot Park, South Australia, suburb of Adelaide * Ascot (Ballarat), town near Ballarat in Victoria ...

in 2012 after impressing many in the top

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

events at the Aintree and

Cheltenham Festivals Cheltenham Festivals is a registered charity that aims to bring joy, spark curiosity, connect communities, and inspire change year-round with four world-class festivals in jazz, science, music, and literature, and charitable programmes for edu ...

, and Racing Demon, the winner of the Peterborough Chase at

Huntingdon Racecourse Huntingdon Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Brampton near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on a Site of Special Scientific Interest of the original Brampton Racecourse. The most notable race held ...

in 2006 and 2007. Knight retired in 2012 with over 700 winners to her name. In November 2023, she announced that she would be returning to training. She made her reappearance on the racecourse with two runners at

Wincanton Wincanton ( or ) is a town and electoral ward in Somerset, southwest England. The town lies off the A303 road, a main route between London and South West England, and has some light industry. In the 2021 census the civil parish had a populatio ...

on 12 January 2024. Knight is the author of five books: ''Best Mate: Chasing Gold'' (2003); ''Best Mate: Triple Gold'' (2004); ''Not Enough Time - My Life with Terry Biddlecombe'' (2015); ''The Jumping Game'' (2019); ''Starting from Scratch: Inspired to be a Jump Jockey'' (2019).

Major wins

Source: *

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 furlon ...

- (3) - ''

(2002, 2003, 2004)'' *

Clarence House 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 ( ...

- (1) - Somersby (2012) *

Clonmel Oil Chase The Clonmel Oil Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Clonmel over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs (2 miles ...

- (1) - '' Edredon Bleu (2003)'' *

- (1) - ''Calgary Bay (2009)'' * Glenlivet Hurdle - (1) - ''Stompin (1996)'' *

Grand Annual Chase Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), ...

- (1) - '' Edredon Bleu (1998)'' *

King George VI Chase The King George VI Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a dis ...

- (2) - ''

(2002), Edredon Bleu (2003)'' * Lanzarote Hurdle - (1) - ''Heart (2000)'' *

Lexus Chase The Savills Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of about 3 miles (4,828 metres), and ...

- (1) - ''

(2003)'' *

Mersey Novices' Hurdle The Mersey Novices' Hurdle is a Grade One National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Aintree, Merseyside, over a distance of about 2 ...

- (1) - ''

(2000)'' * Peterborough Chase - (8} - '' Edredon Bleu (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001),

(2002), Impek (2005), Racing Demon (2006, 2007)'' *

- (1) - '' Edredon Bleu (2000)'' *

Scilly Isles Novices' Chase The Scilly Isles Novices' 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 Sandown Park over a distance of around two mi ...

- (1) - ''

(2001)'' * Stayers Hurdle - (1) - ''

Karshi Qarshi ( ; ) is a city in southern Uzbekistan. It is the capital of Qashqadaryo Region. Administratively, Qarshi is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Qashqadaryo. It has a population of 278,300 (2021 estimate). It ...

(1997)'' *

Sun Alliance Chase The Brown Advisory Novices' Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of abo ...

- (1) - ''Lord Noelie (2000)'' * Victor Chandler Chase - (1) - ''Somersby (2012)''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Henrietta Catherine 1946 births Alumni of the University of Oxford British racehorse trainers Living people People from Wantage