Josh Gifford (3 August 1941 – 9 February 2012) was a jockey and trainer in
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: ...
. He was a four-time
Champion Jockey, riding 642 winners in his career. He retired from training in 2002, aged 60, and his son Nick Gifford took over training duties.
[ Josh's daughter Kristina Cook (née Gifford) is an Olympic medal winning rider who competes in the horse trials sport of ]eventing
Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. Thi ...
.
Biography
Gifford was born in Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...
. At the age of 28, he turned to training racehorses, with Frank Pullen being his first owner, and later trained Aldaniti
Aldaniti (25 June 1970 - 28 March 1997) was a racehorse who won the Grand National on 4 April 1981. His jockey on that day, Bob Champion, had recovered from cancer, while Aldaniti had recovered after suffering a career-threatening injury. The ...
, the winner of the 1981 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 ...
. He was played by Edward Woodward
Edward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE (1 June 1930 – 16 November 2009) was an English actor and singer. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he began his career on stage. Throughout his career, he appeared in productions ...
in the 1983 film ''Champions
A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the Victory, victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and w ...
''.
His training stables, which he took over from his former boss, Captain H. Ryan Price, were located in