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Fred Winter
Fred Winter
Fred Winter
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Frederick Thomas Winter, CBE (20 September 1926 – 5 April 2004) was a British National Hunt racing racehorse jockey and trainer. He was British jump racing Champion Jockey four times and British jump racing Champion Trainer eight times. He is the only person to have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle and Grand National as both jockey and trainer. Winter won the Grand National four times, as a jockey in 1957 (Sundew) and 1962 (Kilmore), and as a trainer in 1965 (Jay Trump) and 1966 (Anglo).

Key Information

His most famous victory as a jockey was on Mandarin in the 1962 Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris at Auteuil. His victory despite his illness, a broken bit and Mandarin breaking down in the last half-mile was voted the greatest ride ever in a 2006 Racing Post poll. The race was listed in The Guardian as one of the greatest races ever.[citation needed]

As a jockey he rode a then-record 923 National Hunt winners before his retirement in 1964.

Honours

[edit]

He was appointed CBE in the 1963 Birthday Honours.

Cheltenham Gold Cup (twice as a jockey and once as a trainer).
Champion Hurdle (3 times as a jockey and 4 times as a trainer).
Grand National (see above).
King George VI Chase (3 times as jockey and 2 times as trainer)

He won 45 times at the annual Cheltenham Festival (17 as jockey and 28 as trainer), and is commemorated by the Fred Winter Juvenile Novices' Handicap Hurdle at the annual meet.

Details of his training career are as follows:

Stables: Uplands, Lambourn, Berkshire 1964–88

First runner and winner: Jay Trump, Sandown, 21 October 1964

Grand National winners: Jay Trump (1965), Anglo (1966)

Cheltenham Gold Cup: Midnight Court (1978)

Champion Hurdle winners: Bula (1971, 1972), Lanzarote (1974), Celtic Shot (1988)

Champion Chase winner: Crisp (1971)

Other Cheltenham Festival winners:

Bula (1970 Gloucestershire Hurdle, Div 2), Soloning (1970 Arkle Challenge Trophy, 1972 Cathcart Chase), Pendil (1972 Arkle Challenge Trophy), Killiney (1973 Totalisator Champion Chase), Soothsayer (1974 Cathcart Chase), Outpoint (1977 Joe Coral Golden Hurdle Final), Venture To Cognac (1979 Sun Alliance Novices' Hurdle, 1984 Foxhunter Chase), Roller-Coaster (1979 Cathcart Chase), Stopped (1980 Grand Annual Chase), Rolls Rambler (1980 Foxhunter Chase), Derring Rose (1981 Stayers' Hurdle), Friendly Alliance (1981 Grand Annual Chase), Brown Chamberlin (1982 Sun Alliance Chase), Observe (1983 Cathcart Chase, 1987 Foxhunter Chase), Half Free (1984 Mildmay of Flete Chase, 1986 Cathcart Chase, 1987 Cathcart Chase), Glyde Court (1985 Kim Muir Memorial Chase, 1986 Kim Muir Memorial Chase)

Other notable winners: Royal Sanction (1966 Imperial Cup), Into View (1970 Welsh Champion Chase, Black & White Gold Cup), Bula (1970 Benson & Hedges Hurdle, 1971 Welsh Champion Hurdle, 1973 Black & White Whisky Gold Cup), Pendil (1972 Welsh Champion Chase, Black & White Whisky Gold Cup, Benson & Hedges Chase, King George VI Chase, 1973 Massey Ferguson Gold Cup, King George VI Chase), Lanzarote (1973 Imperial Cup, Christmas Hurdle, 1975 Welsh Champion Hurdle, Christmas Hurdle), Acquaint (1977 Imperial Cup), Prayukta (1980 Imperial Cup), Fifty Dollars More (1982 Mackeson Gold Cup, 1983 Kennedy Construction Gold Cup), Observe (1982 Kennedy Construction Gold Cup), Brown Chamberlin (1983 Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup), Half Free (1984 Mackeson Gold Cup, 1985 Mackeson Gold Cup), Plundering (1986 Whitbread Gold Cup), Celtic Shot (1987 Mecca Bookmakers' Hurdle)

Last runner and winner: Stag Dinner, Stratford, 4 June 1988

Champion trainer: 8 times: 1970–71 to 1974–75; 1976–77, 1977–78, 1984–85.

Most wins in a season: 99 in 1975–76

Total wins over jumps in Britain: 1,557 in 24 seasons (1964–88)

Main jockeys: Eddie Harty 1964–68, Bobby Beasley 1968–69, Paul Kelleway 1969–72, Richard Pitman 1972–75, John Francome 1975–85, Ben de Haan/Jimmy Duggan 1985–86, Peter Scudamore 1986–88

References

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Fred Winter

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from Grokipedia
Fred Winter is a British National Hunt jockey and racehorse trainer known for his dominance in jump racing during the mid-20th century, achieving the unique distinction of winning the Grand National both as a jockey and as a trainer while securing four champion jockey titles and eight champion trainer championships. Born Frederick Thomas Winter on 20 September 1926 in Andover, Hampshire, into a racing family, he began his career on the Flat but switched to National Hunt in 1947 after army service, overcoming serious injuries to ride 923 winners over jumps. As a jockey, he claimed the Grand National aboard Sundew in 1957 and Kilmore in 1962, the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Saffron Tartan in 1961 and Mandarin in 1962, and formed a renowned partnership with trainer Ryan Price, highlighted by Mandarin's legendary victory in the 1962 Grand Steeplechase de Paris despite a broken bridle. He retired from riding in 1964 following a punctured lung injury and was appointed CBE for services to racing. Transitioning to training at Uplands stables in Lambourn, Winter achieved immediate success, winning the Grand National with Jay Trump in 1965 and Anglo in 1966, and training champions such as Bula (Champion Hurdle 1971 and 1972), Lanzarote (Champion Hurdle 1974), Pendil (King George VI Chase twice), Crisp (Two-Mile Champion Chase), and Midnight Court (Cheltenham Gold Cup 1978). His stable produced 28 Cheltenham Festival winners and mentored prominent figures including jockeys John Francome and Richard Pitman, and future trainers Nicky Henderson and Oliver Sherwood. A severe stroke in 1987 ended his active involvement, but his legacy endures as one of the most influential figures in British steeplechasing, admired for his integrity, determination, and impact on the sport until his death on 5 April 2004.

Early life

Birth and background

Fred Winter was born Frederick Thomas Winter on 20 September 1926 in Andover, Hampshire, into a racing family. His father, Fred Winter Sr., was a successful Flat jockey who won the 1911 Oaks on Cherimoya at age 16, though his career was interrupted by the First World War and four years as a POW. Winter had one brother, John, who later trained successfully on the Flat in Newmarket. From a young age, he was closely involved with horses, riding out his father's horses from the age of five and competing successfully in gymkhanas as a child. At age 13, weighing 5 st 7 lb, he had his first public ride on Tam O'Shanter, finishing ninth at Newbury. He achieved his first win shortly afterward on the same horse at Salisbury. He attended Ewell Castle School in Surrey but left shortly after his first ride to become an apprentice with trainer Henri Jellis in Newmarket. The apprenticeship proved unsuccessful due to increasing weight problems, yielding only two winners from 80 rides. He then returned to his family at Southfleet, where his father worked as a private trainer. Winter served four years in the Army toward the end of the Second World War, commissioned in the West Kents regiment, qualifying as a parachutist, and spending nine months in Palestine. He was demobilised in 1948 at age 22. While on leave in 1947, he decided to switch to National Hunt racing. His first ride over jumps was on his father's hurdler Bambino II, with his first jumps winner coming the next day on the family horse Carlton.

Career

Early life and entry into racing

Born in 1926, Fred Winter grew up in a racing family and began his career on the Flat as an apprentice jockey. He had his first public ride at age 13 and rode his first winner in 1940. His initial work consisted of rides on the Flat, but he faced challenges with increasing weight.

Military service and transition to National Hunt

In the 1940s, Winter's activities were dominated by his military service in the British Army from 1944 to 1947, where he attained the rank of lieutenant in the 6th Battalion Parachute Regiment and spent nine months in Palestine, before resuming his racing career upon demobilization. Comprehensive biographical accounts of his life contain no references to any participation outside of racing during this era. After the war, too heavy for Flat racing, he switched to National Hunt in 1947, riding his first jumps winner shortly after his debut.

Personal life

Family and private affairs

Fred Winter married Diana in 1956. He was survived by his wife Diana and their three daughters, Denise, Joanna, and Philippa. A 1960 documentary portrait depicted Winter at home with his wife and children, offering a rare glimpse into his domestic life away from racing. Beyond these details, reliable sources provide limited information on his private affairs or extended family relationships.

Death

Circumstances and date

Fred Winter died on 5 April 2004 at the age of 77 in Swindon, Wiltshire. He had suffered a severe stroke in 1987 that ended his active involvement in training, after which he lived in retirement. Specific details on the immediate cause of death are not widely detailed in public sources, and no burial or memorial details are prominently recorded.

Filmography

Known credits and roles

Fred Winter has no known credits as an actor in film or television productions. Comprehensive searches of major databases, including IMDb, yield no entries for him in acting roles during the 1930s, 1940s, or any other period. His public appearances in media are limited to documentary contexts related to his horse racing career, such as a credited appearance as himself in the short documentary Look at Life: Over the Sticks (1966), where he was featured as a horse trainer rather than in a fictional role. No archival or industry sources indicate any involvement in narrative films, shorts, or television dramas as an actor.
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