Edward John "Teddy" Beckett, 5th Baron Grimthorpe (born 20 November 1954), is a British peer."Grimthorpe, 5th Baron", ''

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

'', London: A & C Black (2012)
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Retrieved 15 October 2012. He was racing manager to the late

Prince Khalid Abdullah A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fema ...

who died in January 2021.

Family background and early life

Lord Grimthorpe is the elder son of the late

Christopher Beckett, 4th Baron Grimthorpe Brigadier Christopher John Beckett, 4th Baron Grimthorpe, (16 September 1915 – 6 July 2003), was a soldier, company director, landowner and peer of the realm. Personal life Christopher John Beckett was born 16 September 1915, eldest son of ...

, and Elizabeth, Lady Grimthorpe, formerly Lady Elizabeth Lumley, daughter of

Lawrence Lumley, 11th Earl of Scarbrough Lawrence Roger Lumley, 11th Earl of Scarbrough, (27 July 1896 – 29 June 1969) was a British Conservative politician and British Army general. Background Lumley was the son of Brigadier General Osbert Lumley (1857–1923), youngest child a ...

, of

Lumley Castle Lumley Castle is a 14th-century quadrangular castle at Chester-le-Street in the North of England, near the city of Durham, and a property of the Earl of Scarbrough. It is a Grade I listed building. It is currently a hotel. History It is name ...

, County Durham. He became 5th Baron Grimthorpe on the death of his father in 2003. Lord Grimthorpe's father, the 4th Baron, was a keen horseman with a reputation as a shrewd gambler.Mottershead, Lee. "Death of Lord Grimthorpe at age of 87", ''

Racing Post ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing, and sports betting publisher published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 60,629 ...

'', 11 July 2003
Link to article on The Free Library
Retrieved 15 October 2012. He was a member of the

Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree Racecourse, Aintree, Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom ...

and a director of

Thirsk Racecourse Thirsk Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, England. The course is a left handed oval of about 1 mile 2 furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customar ...

, and kept a number of horses in training. His stud at Westow Hall, which he re-established in 1965, was responsible for breeding Mrs McArdy, winner of the 1,000 Guineas in 1977."Newly Elected Members of the Jockey Club & Appointments for 2008"

The Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and both the Rowley Mile and July Course in Newmarket, among ...

, 10 December 2007. Retrieved 15 October 2012.Carroll, Steve
"Wonderhorse Frankel rules even for York’s Lord"
''

The Press ''The Press'' () is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand, owned by media business Stuff (company), Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday t ...

'', 16 December 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2012. Grimthorpe's grandfather, the 3rd Baron, won 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 furlon ...

with Fortina in 1947. The present Lord Grimthorpe has been a keen racegoer from an early age. In an interview with the ''

'' he remembered having two shillings with his mother on Larkspur to win the

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

in 1962.Downe, Alastair. "Lord Grimthorpe Interview", ''

'', 23 July 2010
Link to article on The Free Library
. Retrieved 15 October 2012. As a schoolboy he saw

Brigadier Gerard Brigadier Gerard is the hero of a series of 17 historical short stories, a play, and a major character in a novel by the British writer Arthur Conan Doyle. Brigadier Etienne Gerard is a Hussar officer in the French Army during the Napoleonic Wars ...

's only loss, to Roberto at

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

in 1972. Grimthorpe was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

. Grimthorpe served as a page at the wedding of

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick; born 9 October 1935) is a member of the British royal family. The elder son of Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, he is a grandson of George ...

, to Katharine Worsley on 8 June 1961.

Racing manager

Lord Grimthorpe had a successful career as a bloodstock agent, working for more than twenty years at the British Bloodstock Agency, whom he joined as his first employment, and buying horses on behalf of, among others, the

Duke of Devonshire Duke of Devonshire is a title in the Peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This (now the senior) branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the wealthiest British aristocratic families since the 16th century and has b ...

.Hotspur (McGrath, J. A.)
"Frankel faces his biggest test yet in the Juddmonte International at York on Wednesday"
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', 19 August 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012. In 1999 he became

's racing manager, succeeding Grant Pritchard-Gordon.Scott, Brough. "The Modest Prince", ''

'', 13 June 2010
Link to article on The Free Library
. Retrieved 15 October 2012. He is responsible for overseeing the Prince's worldwide

Juddmonte Farms Juddmonte Farms is a horse breeding farm, owned until his death on 12 January 2021 by Prince Khalid bin Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. National Thoroughbred Racing Association"Juddmonte Farms, Inc.", profile. Retrieved October 16, 2007. Overview J ...

racing operation, which in 2011 involved 700–800 horses across ten farms in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States, and about 250 horses in training with 13 different trainers.Owen, David
"Breeding: it’s all about the pedigree"
''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'', 3 June 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2012. He has been widely praised for his contribution to a lengthy period of considerable success for the Juddmonte operation. In 2003 Prince Khalid had 78 winners in Britain and 58 in France, making him champion owner in both those countries; he also finished third in the American owners' championship that year. The prince was British flat racing's champion owner again in 2010, with 74 winners and prize money of more than £3 million; and he took the title once more in 2011, when he had 63 winners and won prize money totaling more than £3.4 million. Lord Grimthorpe was elected to the

in December 2007 and in 2011 he was appointed chairman of the race committee at

York Racecourse York Racecourse is a horse racing venue in York, North Yorkshire, England. It is the third biggest racecourse in Britain in terms of total prize money offered, and second behind Ascot Racecourse, Ascot in prize money offered per meeting. It att ...

. He was appointed a deputy lieutenant of

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

in 2023.

Personal life

Lord Grimthorpe married Carey Elisabeth McEwen in 1992. The marriage was dissolved in 2009. They have one son, Hon. Harry Maximillian Beckett, born 28 April 1993. Lord Grimthorpe married Emma Benyon (née Villiers, and the former wife of Conservative Party politician

Richard Benyon Richard Henry Ronald Benyon, Baron Benyon, (born 21 October 1960), is a British politician who has served as Lord Chamberlain of the Household since 4 November 2024. He previously was Minister of State for Climate, Environment and Energy from ...

) on 14 June 2013. The horseracing trainer

Ralph Beckett Ralph Michael Beckett (born June 1971) is a British racehorse trainer who specialises in training horses for Flat racing. He is based at Kimpton, Hampshire. Career Beckett comes from an aristocratic racing background. He is the grandson of Ra ...

is Lord Grimthorpe's cousin.Smurthwaite, Tony
"Beckett puts his faith in an unlikely hero"
''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'', 25 June 2001. Retrieved 15 October 2012.

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grimthorpe, Edward Beckett, 5th Baron 1954 births Living people

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

Deputy lieutenants of Cambridgeshire Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom People educated at Harrow School