Lord John Oaksey, the former jockey, journalist, author, broadcaster and founder of the Injured Jockeys Fund, has died aged 83.
Oaksey died on Wednesday at his family home in Wiltshire following a lengthy period of ill health.
He will always be associated with his work for injured jockeys which began when Tim Brookshaw and Paddy Farrell suffered serious injuries at Aintree in the 1963-64 jumps season.
Retired trainer Jack Berry worked alongside Lord Oaksey in his role as vice president of the IJF.
“It’s a very sad day. He was a star man in every respect,” Berry told At The Races.
“He worked tirelessly for the IJF from its outset in 1964 when Paddy Farrell had his accident in a fall from Border Flight in the Grand National.
“At trustee meetings, he would stand his corner for the beneficiaries and would give 100 per cent.
“I can’t speak highly enough of him.”
The residential home of Oaksey House in Lambourn was built in his honour for the recuperation of injured jockeys and a statue of him adorns the grounds.
Born John Lawrence on March 21, 1929, he was the son of Geoffrey Lawrence, the 1st Baron Oaksey who was chief judge at the Nuremberg trials after the Second World War.
Educated at Eton and Yale, Lord Oaksey was an enthusiastic amateur rider and enjoyed considerable success, winning the 1958 Hennessy Gold Cup on Taxidermist and finishing second in the Grand National on Carrickbeg in 1963.
He was a renowned writer for The Daily Telegraph and was a member of ITV Seven from 1969 and, later, Channel 4’s racing team.
He retired from broadcasting in 1999.
Even in his retirement, Lord Oaksey continued to make an impact in the shape of the steeplechaser Carruthers who he owned and bred.
Trained by his son-in-law, Mark Bradstock, Carruthers claimed the 2011 Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury, bridging a gap of 53 years after Oaksey won it as a rider.
Channel 4 Racing and At The Races pundit John McCririck was a long-standing colleague and friend of Oaksey, and coined the phrase ‘My Noble Lord’.
“The Noble Lord was the last of the gifted English Corinthians,” he said.
“In the top rank of amateur National Hunt riders, he became an evocative wordsmith and a genuinely kind, decent, human being.
“John had a love, enthusiasm and understanding of racing that was inspirational.
“His passing deprives us of a man who gave so much and nurtured the best in mankind while ignoring the worst.”
