Gordon Richards began his time in racing as a jockey, initially starting on the flat, before moving to national hunt racing because he was too heavy to stick to the weights needed for flat racing. A career-ending injury took him to training, and this is where he really made a name for himself.
Born on September 7, 1930, Richards won two Grand Nationals and also two King George VI races at Kempton, amongst other big wins. He took out his training license in 1964 and began to train in the North of England, where he would remain for his entire career, despite moving yards on a couple of occasions to get bigger and better facilities.
In September 1998, just six months after One Man went to the Cheltenham Festival and won the Queen Mother Champion Chase, Gordon Richards passed away from cancer. His son, Nicky Richards, took over the training license for the yard and continued the great work that his father had done over the years.
Gordon W Richards Grand National Wins
- 1984 - Hallo Dandy ridden by Neale Doughty
- 1978 - Lucius ridden by Bob Davies
Full Results
| Year | Horse | Result | Prize Money | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Buckboard Bounce | 4 | £14,535 | Paul Carberry |
| 1995 | General Pershing | Fence 3 - Unseated Rider | - | David Bridgwater |
| 1993 | On The Other Hand | 6 | - | Neale Doughty |
| 1992 | Twin Oaks | 5 | £3,629 | Neale Doughty |
| 1991 | Rinus | Fence 20 - Fell | - | Neale Doughty |
| 1991 | The Langholm Dyer | Fence 20 - Unseated Rider | - | Graham McCourt |
| 1990 | Rinus | 3 | £13,028 | Neale Doughty |
| 1990 | Conclusive | Fence 3 - Fell | - | Steve Smith-Eccles |
| 1987 | Dark Ivy | Fence 6 - Fell | - | Phil Tuck |
| 1986 | Hallo Dandy | 12 | - | Neale Doughty |
| 1985 | Immigrate | Fence 22 - Unseated Rider | - | John Hansen |
| 1985 | Hallo Dandy | Fence 1 - Unseated Rider | - | Graham Bradley |
| 1984 | Hallo Dandy | 1 | £40,842 | Neale Doughty |
| 1983 | Hallo Dandy | 4 | £3,219 | Neale Doughty |
| 1982 | Man Alive | Fence 1 - Fell | - | Andy Turnell |
| 1982 | Current Gold | 5 | - | Neale Doughty |
| 1978 | Lucius | 1 | £29,148 | Bob Davies |
| 1978 | Tamalin | 12 | - | Graham Thorner |
| 1977 | Sir Garnet | Fence 24 - Unseated Rider | - | Jonjo O’Neill |
| 1974 | Straight Vulcan | Fence 18 - Fell | - | Ron Barry |
| 1972 | Gyleburn | Fence 1 - Fell | - | Ron Barry |
Winning His First Grand National With Lucius
Gordon Richards first tasted Grand National success in 1978, when Lucius won a thrilling finish to land the race. Connections were dealt a blow ahead of the contest when regular pilot David Goulding suffered an injury, ruling him out of the ride. Bob Davies was the man that trainer Richards called upon to ride the horse but had never ridden him before.
It is fair to say that Davies cautiously approached the ride, especially in the early part of the race, but gradually grew into the task. The second circuit saw Davies bring his mount into the race, slowly going through the field and looking as though he could get involved in the finish.
He did exactly that, as did plenty of others, too, a close finish brought great drama as the horses hit the elbow and entered the final 100 yards of the race. Lucius had the lead after the elbow, but Sebastian V was closing on him, as was Drumroan, who came fast and late but ran out of time to get to the front.
By half a length, Lucius held on, giving Gordon Richards his first Grand National success and also giving Bob Davies his first win in the race too. The horse would retire from racing the following season, never going back onto the track after his National win.
A Second Grand National Win With Hallo Dandy
Hallo Dandy was the second Grand National success of Gordon Richards’ career, the win came in 1984. A year earlier, the horse was in with a great chance of winning the race when he was unable to cope with the heavy ground on the day, ultimately finishing in fourth.
A year later, he returned, in good form after a solid prep run, with just 1lb more in weight to carry and, perhaps most importantly, with good ground for the race. This enabled him to go through the contest much better, and when the horses were four out, Hallo Dandy and Greasepaint took each other on at the front and kicked clear of the rest of the horses left in the race to make this a two-horse finish.
Ahead by a length at the final fence, Hallo Dandy needed to keep working hard all the way to the line and prove he could stay this distance in a race of this distance. He did, and right at the end, he managed to come away and win by a bigger distance, with four lengths being the official winning margin.
After struggling to get home on bad ground a year earlier, Hallo Dandy showed the world what he was capable of when winning the race in 1984. He would come back for two more Grand National attempts, in 1985, he fell at the first fence when trying to defend his title, and he then finished 12th in 1986, the final run of his racing career.
The Trainer Of One Man
It is impossible to talk about Gordon Richards without mentioning perhaps the most famous horse that he trained, One Man. According to official ratings, this was the highest-rated horse that Richards ever trained, and he won two of the most prestigious races in the horse racing calendar, including winning one of them twice.
The first big race win of his career came in 1994 when he won the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury. A year later, in 1995, he landed his first King George VI Chase at Kempton, a true three-mile contest but one that set him up perfectly for a tilt at the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He was sent off as the 11/8 favourite, but after being bang in contention at the last fence, he faded to finish sixth. The feeling was that he didn’t get the trip, which he had won over before, but at Cheltenham, he also has the hill finish to contend with and the faster pace that we always see in a Gold Cup.
He was back a year later, winning the Charlie Hall Chase before going back to Kempton and landing another King George VI Chase at Kempton. Again, he went for the Gold Cup but was 7/1 this time around, with staying doubts. Two out, he was in with a chance, but at the last, he stopped to almost a walk, unable to get home. It was clear that this race was not the one for him.
In 1998, his Cheltenham target was changed, with the Champion Chase, over two miles, being his task. He would drop back a mile in trip for this, from three miles, but took the race in his stride and blew the roof off Cheltenham Racecourse when he won the contest. At the time of his victory, no horse had ever won both the King George VI Chase and Champion Chase because of how different they are, but that also showed the great versatility of One Man.
Unfortunately, a few weeks later, at Aintree Racecourse, One Man was running in the Melling Chase when he crashed through a fence, not really jumping it, with a possibility being that he had a heart attack when he got to the fence. He landed in a heap at the other side and was immediately put down on the spot, a tough end to what was a brilliant racing career.
Bad Fall Ends Riding Career
Gordon Richards began life as a jockey before switching to become a trainer, and the switch happened a lot earlier in life than it should have. After progressing from flat racing over to national hunt racing because of struggles with his weight, Richards would suffer a bad fall, which would end his riding career.
When taking a mount at Perth Racecourse, Richards fell off a horse and landed badly, a fall which would leave him with a broken back. That was his racing career over in terms of being a jockey, and when he was over the injury and mobile enough to get back up on his feet and make a career for himself, this is when he turned to training.
Famous Horses Trained By Gordon Richards
Here are some of the bigger names trained by Gordon Richards during his career.
Lucius
Hallo Dandy
One Man
Titus Oates