Fred Rimell

Thomas Frederic (Fred) Rimell (1913 - 13 July 1981) was a British champion National Hunt racing jockey and trainer. He was champion jockey three times and leading trainer five times. He was the first jumping trainer to earn £1 million in prize money for his owners.

Rimell earned himself the title of “Mr Grand National”, training four winners of the spectacular steeplechase. They were ESB (1956), Nicolaus Silver (1961), Gay Trip (1970) and Rag Trade, who beat Red Rum in the 1976 running of the race.

Champion National Hunt Jockey

1938/39, 1939/40, 1944/45 (shared), 1945/46

Fred Rimell was champion NH jockey 4 times (1938/9, 1939/40, 1944/5 and 1945/6). A broken neck in a fall on Coloured Schoolboy in the 1947 Cheltenham Gold Cup ended his riding career. Apprenticed to his father Tom, he rode his first flat winner, aged 12 at Chepstow and went on to ride 33 flat winners before becoming a jumps jockey.

Champion National Hunt Trainer

1950/51, 1960/61, 1968/69, 1969/70, 1975/76

Fred Rimell had taken out a trainer’s licence in 1945. He was to dominate jumps racing and became the first man to train 4 Grand National winners (ESB, Nicholas Silver, Gay Trip and Rag Trade). He won a host of other top class chases, including, the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice (Woodland Venture and Royal Frolic). He also won a Whitbread Gold Cup with Andy Pandy (weeks after he crumpled on landing at Beechers on the second circuit when well clear in the 1977 Grand National), Welsh Grand National (Fearless Fred and Rag Trade), the Scottish Grand National (The Fossa) and the Mackeson Gold Cup in 4 successive years (Jupiter Boy, Gay Trip(twice) and Chatham).

He also won the Champion Hurdle twice with Comedy of Errors.

He trained a string of top flight hurdlers, including Gaye Chance, Normandy and Coral Diver. A tendency to keep his top class hurdlers over hurdles for too long meant few graduated to become top chasers.

Fred Rimell’s horses were always immaculately turned out, well schooled and usually their jumping was near perfect. His novice steeplechasers had an outstanding record of winning at the first time of asking.

His last major winner was Gaye Chance, ridden by Sam Morshead, who won the season's richest handicap hurdle, the Royal Doulton, at Haydock Park in May 1981. Gaye Chance was one of many talented offspring of Artistic Gaye to race for the Rimell family. Another half brother, Royal Gaye, won the same race in 1978 and Gaye Chance’s full brother, Gaye Brief was the 1983 Champion Hurdle winner.

Fred was champion trainer 5 times (1950/1, 1960/1, 1968/9, 1969/70 and 1975/6).

In 1975/6 he won both the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the first trainer to perform the feat since Vincent O'Brien in 1953. That season he was the first jumps trainer to earn his patrons over £1m in prize money.

After he died in July 1981, his widow, Mercy (née Cockburn) assumed the training license at Kinnersley, Worcestershire and continued to train top class winners. She won the 1983 Champion Hurdle with Gaye Brief. She retired in 1988/9.

His grandson, Mark Rimell continues trains at Leafield.

References

• "Racing mourns Rimell". The Times.